The Fledgling Attachment Quandry
by ShellyStark
Summary: A young Penny moves from Omaha to Gavelston and befriends the quirky boy next door with big blue eyes and fear of germs. Their friendship is hard to maintain when he goes away to college and she has to face high school and growing up alone. He still comes to visit, for school breaks and holidays, but then he goes to Germany. When he comes back everything changes...oh, just read it!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:Usually my AN goes at the end...but since this is my first TBBT fic ever I'm going to put it at the top. First off. I'm a Shenny...I'll get right out there and say it. So...please no Shenny bashing, or other pairing bashing for that matter. While I'm not a Shamy fan please don't bash them here. I do adore their friendship just not their relationship. I did want to sob over last weeks episode however. ANYWAY I'm a sucker for young Shenny and I haven't seen much so...here ya go! If you enjoy it I'll keep her going. I need a light hearted break from the usual stuff I indulge in writing. I'm thinking Penny is 8 and am making Sheldon a year older. I know that its more but this is obviously AU so lets run with it shall we. I'll stop blabbing now and let you read...ENJOY!.**

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* * *

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**First Encounters**

It was hot here; hotter than it was in Nebraska and Penny didn't like it. She missed her horses and being able to go outside whenever she wanted. Her mom tried explaining that Galveston had horses as well, but you had to drive somewhere to get to them instead of just going in your back yard. They lived next to a lot of people now, on a long street filled with big houses and pickup trucks. She missed her friends, she missed her gammy, she still missed her horses.

There was a boy that lived next door. A boy with his sister and older brother, his parents and a gammy of his own; MeeMaw she heard them call her on occasion and it only made her miss hers more. His parents fought a lot, just like hers. Penny's mostly fought because her brother was always getting in some sort of trouble. She didn't know why his did, just that it always ended with his daddy storming out the door and leaving a trail of dust behind in the drive way.

Her own momma and daddy had already slammed their bedroom door that night, usually that meant she wouldn't see them until morning, so she took it upon herself to go out; she was tired of staring out the window. It was cooler at night anyhow.

She didn't go far, only to the end of the street, where she sat down in the grass and tucked her small knees to her chin. The boy from next door ran by, skidding to a stop on the sidewalk when he saw her. A superhero shirt was peeking out under his windbreaker all clashing together with his plaid pants. He was out of breath, unable to speak so he just stood there, large blue eyes blinking.

"Hi," she smiled standing and brushing the dirt from her hands. "I'm Penny." She stuck out a hand to him and he took a staggered step backward. She had only seen him from the window before and now that he was here in front of her she noticed he was much taller than she, by at least a head.

"You can't speak or somethin'? Like one of them dumb kids?"

His eyes narrowed and he emitted a dark smirk. "Hardly."

"See there, that wasn't so hard." Penny beamed, jutting forward and grabbing his hand. "Now the polite thing to do is shake and tell me your name."

The boy drew in a sharp breath and froze in place, impossibly growing another two inches and his skin paled. He jerked his hand away and took off running towards his house, never slowing down until the door was sealed shut behind him.

Penny cocked her head to the side and eyed the house in confusion. "What's his problem?" she asked aloud.

"Momma's been askin' Jesus that for years," a girl's voice answered her. She turned to see his sister, similar in height, same dark brown hair and striking blue eyes. She on the other hand did hold out her hand, albeit timidly. "Melissa, but you can call me Missy if you'd like."

"Penny."

"Shelly don't like people touchin' him, not even family most of the time. Somethin' 'bout germs." Missy drug her sneakers along the pavement. "I'm gonna finish whoopin' on him now, little worm is faster than he looks." She took a few steps and turned back with a smile. "See ya around!"

* * *

_Not even blueberry pancakes could make this morning better_, Penny thought as she idly pushed said breakfast around in the pooled syrup on her plate.

"Ready for your first day of school, honey?" her mother asked with a sleepy smile, while sipping her coffee.

"No," she replied.

"Oh, come on. I bet you'll make lots of friends."

"I had friends, you made me leave them behind in Omaha." Penny remarked bitterly, hopping down from the barstool and snagging her lunch off the table.

"Penelope," her mother sighed, "We had to leave, your father had a wonderful opportunity come up and we had to take it."

"Whatever," Penny drew out with an eye roll. "I'm gonna miss the bus." She slung her bag over her shoulder and slid out the door.

* * *

Penny had always thought school was boring; school in Texas was boring in a different state with a well-defined twang. Shelly was there as well as his sister Missy, but they were a year ahead of her so they didn't share a class. Missy did offer her a seat at lunch though, with a few other girls. Penny noticed that her brother sat at a table all alone.

"Why don't you sit with your brother?" she asked.

"Look at him," one of the older girls laughed, "he's a freak, why would she want to."

Missy stared at her lunch and forced out a laugh, "Aww, Shelly likes to eat alone anyhow."

Penny glanced over in his direction; he certainly didn't look like he was enjoying eating alone. He had a slight frown on his face as he took out a wet wipe and wiped his hands clean before carefully unpacking his lunch. He sighed and began to eat, slowly picking at his macaroni only a few noodles at a time. Penny grimaced and tossed her food back in her bag and stood.

"Where ya goin?" Missy asked her.

"To give him some company."

* * *

**A/N: Reviewers get hugs from MeeMaw! and I usually reply :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Blossom Offering**

"Hello," Penny greeted him with a shy smile as she took a seat on the bench on the opposite side of the table. "So…Shelly, is it?"

He licked his lips and his eyes darted around the room before landing on his sister and her friends who were all now staring at him with wide mouths.

"Sheldon. Sheldon Cooper. I eat alone," he stated simply, turning back to his macaroni.

"Because you want to?" she asked quietly.

He glanced up and slowly his blue met her green. "Please, just go." He shook his head and dabbed his napkin at the corners of his mouth.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "For yesterday. Missy told me about your…germ…thingy."

Sheldon raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Mysophobia," he corrected, "but what would Missy know, her intelligence equals that of inebriated squirrel." He let out a small breathy laugh at his own remark, causing Penny to giggle as well. Sheldon continued to hold a small smile on his face and simply watched as she laughed at the expense of his sister.

"You are an odd duck, Sheldon Cooper," she grinned.

Sheldon folded his hands together and leaned forward slightly. "Are you aware, Penny, that when ducks breed that there is often one hatchling in the nest that is in fact differential in coloring than the rest. Making said duckling unique in its own way. So I suppose thanks are in order." He smiled smugly.

"You're welcome," she drew out, not sure if she had exactly meant her comment as a complement but if that is how he wanted to take it than who was she to judge?

"You really shouldn't sit here," he said in a quiet voice after a small amount of silence.

"And why's that?"

"No one will want to be your friend if you sit with me. You look like the kind of girl who should have lots of friends." There was a slight flush in his cheeks and he idly twisted his hands together under the table.

"Well…what if I want to be your friend?" Penny watched him with a light smile as he shyly blinked up to meet her eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but was quick to shut it again. He looked down to his feet and in a voice small as a whisper he spoke,

"I don't have friends."

Penny pulled a small package of cookies out of her lunch bag and pushed them across the table with a smile. Once again his timid blue eyes met hers.

"Now you do. And look, not even opened."

"Thank you, Penny." His smile was soft and sincere and he tentatively took the package of cookies and placed them carefully in his lunch box.

* * *

Across the lunch room Missy watched with smiling eyes as her quirky brother finally made some progress at making a friend instead of having another kid dump their milk over his head. She honestly whished it wasn't so hard for him, but he was just so danged…weird.

"Alert the press, Smelly Shelly's not alone anymore," her friend Jessica remarked.

"Be nice, Jess, he's still my brother."

"And an odd ball," the girl replied dryly.

"Yep, but he's my odd ball," Missy grinned.

* * *

It turned out that Penny didn't mind going to school so much after that first day. Yeah, it still pretty much sucked, but she got to eat lunch with Sheldon and that was always interesting. She quickly learned that he was smart. Like super smart, too smart for his own good kind of smart. Kids didn't like it when other kids told them they were wrong all the time. They also didn't like being called stupid. Of course he didn't say this outright, but they knew when they were being belittled by the great mind of Sheldon Lee Cooper. So they did what they knew how to do best and tracked him down after school and dealt with him in the usual manner most bullies do. A push here, a shove there, swirlies in the boy's room; and all she could do was sit there and listen to the stories of pain he had to share. Because it wasn't as if she was ever around to do anything.

* * *

Now Mrs. Cooper drove her children home after school, this was common knowledge as Penny knew how Sheldon would never dare to sit on one of those germ infested bus seats. Not without an extra pair of pants anyway. Bus pants, she laughed at the thought. So Penny was quite surprised when she found a flustered Sheldon pacing nervously in front of her school bus when school let out.

"Sheldon? You okay?"

He shook his head and continued on, mumbling all the while. "Maybe I could walk. It's approximately eight point two miles to my house from here; I could make it home before dark. Assuming I don't get mugged first."

"Sheldon-" Penny carefully placed a hand on his shoulder and he stopped rigid in his tracks, locking wide eyes with her.

"Penny, I cannot ride the bus," he whispered with a shake of the head.

"Well…I'll walk with you if you'd like-"

"We'll be robbed!" he shrieked.

"By who, the milkman?" she smirked with an eye roll. "Or you could just get on. I have a sweatshirt in my bag you could sit on," she offered with a small shrug.

Sheldon licked his lips, taking turns looking between Penny, the bus, and the long road home. He bounced on his heels in place and was wringing his hands together over and over again, his breathing becoming heavy. One of the bus windows flew open and Missy's head appeared.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper, get your behind on this bus right now or you'll have to be the one explainin' to momma why her toaster oven don't work anymore!"

Sheldon scowled at his sister and glanced back at Penny.

"Can I share a seat with you?" he asked timidly.

"Of course!" she beamed.

"Then I will take you up on your sweatshirt offer."

Sheldon didn't want to sit next to the window, dare he come into contact with the countless amount of bacteria that lie within the walls of the bus its self, but the aisle seat provided little alternative. For then he would be forced to come into contact with every person that would enter and then exit the bus until it was their time to get off. They came to an odd sort of compromise with Penny sitting as close to the edge of the aisle as she could so Sheldon could sit somewhat in the middle of the seat without touching the side of the bus. She even went as far as to grab the crook of his elbow when rounding corners to prevent him from teetering over. He would go stiff each time her hand came into contact with him but considering his options he would much rather have Penny touching him than the disgusting disease ridden interior of the bus.

"So why did you have to ride the bus anyway, where's your mom?" Penny eventually asked.

"Prayer group. Daddy's in a way again and left, MeeMaw called the school and informed them to tell us we had to take the bus home," he whispered, almost ashamedly.

"Oh," was all Penny said, folding her hands in her lap and keeping quiet until they reached their street. Neither Sheldon or Missy ever talked much about their father, and she had yet to meet their older brother. All she knew was that he got loud and angry, but she knew that much before she became friends with Sheldon.

The bus came to a halt and Missy ran ahead with her friends, quickly darting off in the other direction and leaving the two of them with a few boys on the street corner.

"Looky here, Smelly Cooper's got himself a girlfriend!" one of the boys scoffed.

Sheldon drew in his bottom lip and chewed nervously. "Penny is my friend who is a girl, not my girlfriend," he reiterated.

"Let's go, Sheldon," Penny urged, "You can help me with my math homework."

She didn't fail to pick up on the little flicker of a smile in his eyes, while he found helping Penny with her school work exhausting he did quite enjoy it.

"She's even got him doing her home work for her," the older boy jested.

At this Sheldon turned around and dared to puff up if only just a little. "Well now, excuse me, Penny is fully capable of doing her own work, she only has to learn to apply herself. Unlike you barbarians who will be taking remedial classes well into your college years."

"Sheldon," Penny groaned and tugged on his backpack trying to get him to back away.

The boy was starting to form a wry grin on his face.

"Not now Penny," Sheldon scolded. "Now, perhaps if you fools studied more instead of partaking in whatever ridiculous activities you find amusing, you too just might pass the fifth grade this year. Or once more you could be left behind just as you were last year."

The boy's smirk grew into a scowl and he took a step toward Sheldon and shoved his shoulders sending him down on the sidewalk. Penny was quick to sandwich herself between them, she didn't place in Junior Rodeo for nothing and this boy didn't have anything on a young colt.

"That's enough!" She stamped her foot and jabbed her finger in the boy's chest. "I may not be good at math, but can hog tie you quicker than you can spell Mississippi."

"Really, Penny, knowing his education skills I seriously doubt-"

Penny shot Sheldon a look, "Shut your hole, Sheldon!" she snapped and then turned back to the boy and went up on tip toe to take his chin between her finger and thumb. "Now turn around and leave me and my friend alone."

"My friend and I," Sheldon uttered under his breath.

"Sheldon I said shut up!"

The boy smirked, obviously doubting Penny's abilities and went to step around her. Big mistake, she made good on her promise and had him on his back despite his size within the minute with her straddling his chest.

"I'm sorry, did you misunderstand me?" Penny smiled sweetly, digging her heels into his midsection.

The boy mumbled uttered a 'no' from underneath her and she pressed the back of his head into the dirt for good measure before standing up.

She dusted off her hands and extended one to Sheldon who expectedly declined but appreciated the gesture none the less and got up on his own.

"You two deserve each other," the boy grunted once he rejoined the others and they began to meander down the other side of the street.

"Penny, you shouldn't have interfered," Sheldon offered up quietly, awkwardly shuffling his feet.

"Oh, stuff it, Cooper, I wasn't about to let him beat the tar out of you! Stick up for yourself, Sheldon!" she huffed.

"My mom says to fight with your words not your fists."

"Yeah…that's gotten you real far!" she growled starting to stomp away.

"I'm smartest at our school! Smarter even than most of them at the high school!" he argued, his small fists balled up at his sides as he strode to keep up with her, his face reddening.

"That's great, Sheldon, maybe you can beat them up with your brain." She paused when they reached the front of his house. His MeeMaw was sitting on the front porch in her rocker, always smiling when her grandson came into the picture. She gave a little wave to the pair of them and it made Penny's stomach clench. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sheldon."

She didn't bother to give him time to respond, she just tightened her grip on bag and rushed off to her house and ran all the way upstairs to her room, slamming the door behind her. Stubborn Sheldon Lee Cooper and his big brain was going to get her into a lot of trouble.

* * *

A knock came at her bedroom door after dinner, and her father entered with a raised brow. "Penny, there's a boy at the door for you."

She sighed and rolled off her bed, trudging down the stairs as slowly as she could. Sheldon stood there with is hands behind his back rocking back on his heels, his blue eyes scanning her living room.

"What do you want?"

"Oh…well…I..uh…" he pulled his hands from behind his back and produced a little white flower with red stamens. "Here." He shifted uncomfortably and took a step forward placing the bud behind her ear with a shaking hand. "They grow on the tree in the backyard, MeeMaw says it's called a pear blossom…that they are a symbol of friendship," he added quietly. "Are you still my friend, Penny? I'd hate to lose my only one after such a short time."

She gently touched the petals that were resting in her hair; still taken aback that he had actually initiated some sort of semi contact. She smiled up at him and nodded.

"Yes, you big ole' whack-a-doodle, I'm still your friend," she laughed, "I just wish you wouldn't let them other kids push you around."

Sheldon shrugged, "I'm used to it."

"You're better than them, Sheldon Cooper," she said with a small frown.

"I know." He gave her a quick forced smile and a wave of his hand. "Goodnight, Penny."

* * *

**A/N:Hey...I see all you people following...yeah you...and adding this to your favorites...how about you add something in that lovely little box on your way out this time? HmmmHmmm? It takes just a second and it makes my Shenny heart happy! Big big super love to the response I have gotten though. Thanks to you lovely reviewers :D You guys made me so happy with my short little first chapter. I hope this one was a little more felt out and a bit more enjoyable. Let me know won't you? **

**Shelly**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Birthday Solicitation**

Penny was all smiles when a shy, pink faced, Sheldon showed up on her porch on a Saturday morning with a birthday invitation in his hand. Naturally it was for him and his sister, but it was Sheldon who insisted that he did the inviting seeing as Penny was 'his friend' after all. Her mother spent the day with her at the mall where she found some hair clips and a tote bag that Missy was sure to like and then she found a Flash action figure for Sheldon and got him a t-shirt to match.

* * *

She had never met any of the other members of the Cooper family and was admittedly a little nervous at the thought. She raced up the drive way, her pink converse slapping the pavement and her gift bags swinging in her hand; and pressed the doorbell.

A woman with light brown hair and kind dark eyes opened the door and looked around briefly before glancing down at Penny with a welcoming smile.

"Well, darlin' you're so small I almost missed ya!" she grinned. "You must be Shelly's friend, Penny."

"Yes ma'am, Mrs. Cooper," Penny nodded.

"Well now, get in here darlin', don't want you fallin' over in this awful Texas heat." Mary ushered her inside and took the gift bags from her and placed them on a table with the rest of the presents. "SHELLLY, YOUR FRIEND FROM NEXT DOOR IS HERE!" she hollered up the stairwell before turning her attention back to Penny, "He'll be down in just a minute, honey."

Penny nodded, backing up a step, slightly afraid his mother was going to shout for another family member at the drop of a hat.

"Good lord, Mary, must you shout like that, god knows that boy can hear you just fine without you making all that racket." His MeeMaw was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she came into view. "He's got super ears, my MoonPie," she said with a smile and a wink to Penny.

"MoonPie?" Penny stifled a laugh.

"Oh dear," the old woman sighed, "he won't be happy that slipped. You know the delicate egos of prepubescent boys and all," she smiled brightly, her blue eyes glistening.

Penny grinned. She decided that she liked MeeMaw; she was a little like Sheldon with her odd words and her big blue eyes. "He calls it his Voltron hearing," Penny whispered

"Vulcan, Penny. Honestly," Sheldon's quiet sigh came creeping around the stairs and he shook his head in disapproval. "Voltron consisted of several vehicles that combined to make up one giant super robot that was used to defend the universe from evil. Thus the name Voltron: Defender of the Universe."

"Your point, Sheldon?" Penny asked sharply.

Sheldon cocked his head as if it was obvious and clicked his tongue loudly, "Voltron doesn't have ears, Penny…although he does have some resemblance to them I suppose…"

"He is however piloted by multiple people, who all in fact do have fully operational ears," Penny cut in smugly with a wry smile.

"Oooh, good point, Penny!" Sheldon grinned, "But it's still Vulcan hearing."

"Sheldon?"

"What?"

She quickly threw her small arms around his lanky frame and he froze but didn't try to run off. "Happy birthday, MoonPie," she whispered, so low that she knew only he would hear. She pulled back and had a tooth grin plastered across her face.

"You can't…only MeeMaw calls…h..ho..how did you even know?" he stammered. Sheldon cast a frightened look in the direction of his grandmother who was still looming in the entryway watching the pair with adoring eyes. She only shrugged innocently and walked away.

"Come now, you two," Mary gave them both a gentle pat on the back and pushed them towards the kitchen. "Missy and her friends are already waitin' to get this thing started."

* * *

Sheldon's brother, George Jr, or just plain Junior as everyone else called him, was essentially an older version of Sheldon. Taller, thicker, same ole' famous Cooper blue eyes; he all but smirked when his baby brother actually strolled into the room and sat down next to an honest to god person willingly, and a girl to boot.

"Well hot damn, Shelly, did she lose some sort of dare? How on earth did _you_ get _her_ to agree to come?"

"Language, Junior!" Mary scolded, popping her eldest on the back of his head.

"Penny is my friend, George. She is here on her own convention."

"So long as you didn't kidnap the poor thing," he scoffed.

"You know it is Sheldon's birthday, you could be nice," Penny piped up, immediately flushing when the whole room turned its attention on her, including Sheldon. She felt a pair of warm hands land on her shoulders and his MeeMaw's voice broke the silence.

"Why you've kept this girl away for nearly six months, MoonPie, is beyond me. She's such a gem."

"Thank you, ma'am," Penny whispered.

"Oh, none of that ma'am business, just MeeMaw." She bent down and pressed a kiss to Penny's cheek. "And thank you, PennyBlossom."

His father never bothered to make an appearance at his own children's party. He sat idly in the living room with his eyes glued to the Sunday game. According to his momma he would rather be there anyhow, with a bottle restin' on his knee rather than one of his kids. Penny had noticed Junior frowned at the remark but held his tongue on the matter, announcing that they cut the cake and open presents.

Sheldon enjoyed his shirt and figure immensely, grinning widely and expressing a true thank you to Penny followed by a surprising albeit awkward pat on the arm.

* * *

He had invited her up to his room afterward, he wanted to show her the robot dog he was working on and she happily obliged. Penny scowled at the familiar looking box sitting in the middle of his floor and bit her lower lip.

"So, MoonPie were you planning on making cupcakes too?" she quipped.

Sheldon followed her gaze to the box in question and let out a breathy laugh. "Oh, Penny, Penny, Penny, that is no longer a simple Easy Bake Oven. It has been modified to be able to cook integrated circuits made from a ceramic semi-conductor," he paused, "And only MeeMaw can call me MoonPie."

Penny blinked. "Oh…right. Of course it is."

Sheldon sighed, "I don't expect you to understand Penny."

"Oh, good, because that sounded like a bunch of gibber jabber," she laughed nervously.

Sheldon smiled. "Remember when Missy missed school for three days a few weeks ago?"

"MmHmm."

"I had a slight malfunction…burnt her eyebrows plum off," he grinned and his blue eyes bounced up toward the ceiling.

"Sheldon, you didn't!"

"I don't know who was angrier, Missy or my Mother," he snickered.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper that thing does not get turned on so long as I'm here!" Penny scolded, planting her hands on her hips.

"Oh, I'd never burn your eyebrows off, Penny. Not on purpose."

"Was it on purpose Sheldon?" Penny accused.

He went quiet, hands twisted in his lap, lips twitching.

"Sheldon!"

"You said to stand up for myself," he admitted quietly.

"But she's your sister!"

"She still picks on me!" he squeaked out.

Penny couldn't help but laugh and Sheldon stared back at her with large shocked eyes.

"I'll tell you a secret, Sheldon. That's what brothers and sisters do." Penny shook her head. "I bet she looked funny though, huh?" Penny smiled a bright smile that shone in her eyes and he found himself nodding, biting down on his tongue to keep from laughing.

Penny was the first to break, holding her stomach as she giggled, falling back onto his bed and laughing openly. He was quick to join her, not with his short breathy laugh but a high pitched one that came from deep within his belly. He didn't even care to notice that someone else was sitting on his bed, he was too wrapped up in the image of a fuming Missy with the hair missing above her eyes and a laugh filled Penny.

They were interrupted by a deep cough from the hallway. They both sat up to see the dark figure of George Cooper leaning against his door frame, beer in hand, dark hair a mess on top of his head and his blue eyes glaring at his son. He smirked.

"What do ya know? Little freak's a real boy after all." He took a swig of his beer and kept his eyes hard on Sheldon.

"Let him be, George," Mary's voice came from somewhere in the hall.

"Want to tell me how much smarter you are than me, boy? How 'bout we play a game? One of those dumb ass brainy ones you like so you can show off?"

Sheldon blushed deep red and averted his eyes. "No, sir," he replied quietly.

"What was that? Maybe you should look at your old man when he's talking to you," he slurred.

Sheldon kept his head down.

"George, that's enough!" Mary was now pushing her husband down the hallway and a few seconds later they heard a door click closed.

Penny wasn't exactly sure what to do, the whole situation was awkward and still poor Sheldon just sat there with his hands folded in his lap and his head down. Her own parents bickered on occasion, but it was a mutual thing and it was always over in a flash, besides the problem always stemmed from her brothers current issues in school. This…this was different. Much different.

"Sheldon…I'm sure he didn't mean it," she tried to offer some small words of comfort.

"That's the problem, Penny…he did. Every word." Sheldon let out a breath. "It'd probably be best if you left now, before he starts up again."

Penny nodded and went to wrap her arm around his shoulder, but changed her mind and decided to change it to single pat on the back instead. Still he flinched under her touch, but his lips did crack a smile.

"I'm really glad you came, Penny. Thank you."

"You're welcome, MoonPie."

"Don't call me MoonPie."

Penny glanced up at him and saw the flicker of a smile hiding behind the deep blue in his eyes.

"See ya, Sheldon," she smiled softly, slipping his door closed as she made her exit.

* * *

Sheldon wasn't in school the next day, or the next two days after that. Penny thought that odd but never asked him about it and he never brought it up. Not that she thought he would but she figured if it was something bad he just might have, or at least Missy would have told her. They still talked, she was just closer with quirkier of the two twins.

She grinned when she saw him at the lunch table when Wednesday rolled around, sullenly munching on his sandwich.

"Hiya, Shelly, long time no see!" she exclaimed plopping down across from him.

"Penny." He nodded simply in reply.

"How's the robot dog building going?"

Sheldon put down his food in defeat and sighed, "Oh, I gave up on it. I couldn't get it to do anything more than spin in a circle before it short circuited and almost caught fire to the rug. I can only imagine what would have happened if my mother would have found out."

Penny laughed, "She would have tanned your hide, that's what."

"I suppose." He blinked and returned to his sandwich.

He was a little off today, not his usual sciencey babbling self. Back to the quiet boy she knew him as before they had properly met.

"What's up, Sheldon?"

"A good many things are _up,_ Penny," he drawled. "The filthy florescent lights in this room are up, the clouds in the sky are up, birds in the trees-"

"No-" she cut him off, "With you, MoonPie, you're not yourself today."

"I don't see how I can be anyone but myself Penny." He slowly packed the remainder of his lunch and stood from the table. "And don't call me MoonPie."

Penny knitted her eyebrows together, they still had almost twenty minutes left, and there was no hint of a smile when he had scolded her.

"Where are you going?" she asked not bothering to hide the hurt in her voice.

"Apparently to better myself; thanks to that of my ever growing knowledge. Now if you'll excuse me." He left her sitting there without another word and Penny ate the rest of her lunch in silence.

The next day she ate her lunch with Missy, every so often exchanging fleeting glances with Sheldon across the room. He would blush and look away when their eyes would meet and she would do the same.

"He didn't tell ya anything?" Missy asked

"Nope," Penny popped with a sigh. "Just some crap about bettering himself. Whatever that even means."

Missy drew in her bottom lip and looked over at her brother shaking her head. "Just give him time, okay Pen. He'll come around."

Penny noticed that sad look hiding behind Melissa Copper's eyes. The same look that Sheldon got whenever he was trying to avoid his daddy. "What do you know?"

Missy held up her hands in defense. "Not a thing. Whatever Shelly has goin' on is his thing. But that boy has only ever had one true friend; he'll be around soon enough."

* * *

Soon enough was the day after. Once more she ate lunch again at the girl's table. She had been sitting on bed doing homework when his peculiar knocking began.

_Knock, knock, knock, "Penny."_

_Knock, knock, knock, "Penny."_

Penny pulled open her bedroom door and he continued his knock on her door frame.

_Knock, knock, knock, _"Penny," he finished softly.

"Oh, hi Sheldon, has your big brain finally found room for little ole' me."

Sheldon frowned and procured a small white flower from behind his back, the same type that he had given her months ago after their first fight.

_There's always room for you, Penny_ he thought but didn't dare say it. "You've been sitting with Missy at lunch," he swallowed, "Why?"

"You left, Sheldon. You were in some sort of crappy mood and then you just left me!"

"I had received some news, news that I was unsure I wanted to hear at the moment but I have decided will better my future. I was conflicted, Penny and am sorry if that was reflected upon you."

Penny wrinkled her nose. "So you're not mad at me for some reason?"

Sheldon let out his small genuine laugh. "No, not at all." He stepped forward and continued to place the blossom behind her ear this time with a steady hand.

Penny grabbed his hand before he could move it away. "Thank you, Sheldon," she smiled.

"You're quite welcome, Penny," he nodded.

She let his hand fall back to his side and he immediately shoved them into his pockets.

Penny did her best to bite back a grin.

"I'll see you at lunch tomorrow?" he inquired with hopeful blue eyes.

"Wouldn't miss it," she beamed, "Goodnight, MoonPie!"

"Penny?" he drew her name out warningly.

"Yes?"

Sheldon sighed. "Nothing, I'll allow it this time, seeing as we were both under a state of distress."

Her grin grew even wider and he shook his head in reply.

"Goodnight Penny."

* * *

.

* * *

**A/N:Really...really now...I am getting flooded with alerts...why don't you make a girls day and leave me a little love note. Kay? It give me Shenny inspiration :D Plus it makes me really really giddy inside!**

**now an inside look on me. My name is Shelly...my cousin has a baby whose name is Cooper...together we are Shelly Cooper...true story...lord I'm pathetic. **

**Thanks a ton for the feed back I have been getting though. Honestly. I feel as if I have been welcomed into the Shenny community with welcomed arms...preferably Jim Parsons' arms but that is neither her nor there...so than you all, you wonderfully amazing people you. Now do what you do best and make me happy!**

**Shelly!**

**P.S. bonus cookies if anyone can figure out why Sheldon was having a rough couple of days...shouldn't be that hard to figure out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Winter Break Representation**

Christmas, Penny learned was a big to do in Texas. Sure it was a big thing back in Omaha, but in Galveston, no matter how much you loved baby Jesus you had to have at least two Santa Clauses (one inflatable) somewhere on your front lawn and a handful in each room of the house.

At least according to Mary Cooper.

And how did she come to learn this? The day after they had started winter break there was a frantic knocking at her front door at eight a.m. followed by a high pitched twang.

_Knock, knock, knock, _"_Penny_, Mrs. Widmore, Mr. Widmore, Thomas."

_Knock, knock, knock, _"_Penny_, Mrs. Widmore, Mr. Widmore, Thomas."

_Knock, knock, knock, _"_Penny_, Mrs. Widmore, Mr. Widmore, Thomas."

"Oh god," Penny's brother groaned, "It's that weirdo from next door."

"Be nice, Tommy!" Wyatt hissed at his son as he went over to let the poor thing in. It was nearly thirty degrees outside and he was standing there in his The Flash t-shirt with a blue thermal underneath and pair of brown pants. Typical Sheldon wear. "Jesus, kid, you'll catch your death out there; you should have at least put on a jacket or something! Come on in, I'll get you some cocoa."

"With little marshmallows?"

"Yeah, sure," Wyatt chuckled.

"And milk not water?"

"Okay…"

"Warmed to one hundred and eighty degrees in a pot, not the microwave or it tastes funny." Sheldon would have turned pink but due to the cold his cheeks were already there so he just took his bottom lip between his teeth and stared at the floor.

"No problem, buddy."

Sheldon's lips turned upward. "Thank you, Mr. Widmore."

Wyatt smiled and almost patted the kid on the back but remembered Penny saying something about him not taking too kindly to that so instead he just motioned for him to follow him into the kitchen.

"Thomas why don't you go get your sister."

"Freak." Tommy muttered under his breath as he stalked up the stairs.

"Don't pay him no mind, Sheldon, Tommy isn't exactly the best judge of character." Wyatt sighed, shaking his head at the thought of his trouble making son. "A hundred and eighty degrees you say?" He glanced down at Sheldon with a warm smile.

"Yes, sir. In a pot, if you please."

* * *

Penny skipped down the stairs and wandered into the kitchen smiling as she heard Sheldon's snarky twang followed by the occasional agreeing grunt of her father.

"Of course you can't actually 'catch your death', Mr. Widmore; death will come to us when Jesus is good and ready for us to go. At least that's what my mother says. We're all going to die someday and there is no way to avoid that. Unless I figure it out that is."

"Mmmhmm."

"But of course you were referring to my getting sick in the cold, which is even less likely. Do you know why people tend to get sick in the winter time Mr. Widmore?"

"Why's that, Sheldon?" he replied dryly, stirring the milk with a wooden spoon so it wouldn't burn.

"When it gets cold people are automatically afraid they are going to get ill, which just isn't the case. So they immediately shut themselves up in their homes with everyone else therefore exposing themselves to each other's infected mucus." Sheldon smiled smugly.

Wyatt poured the milk into the cups with a scrunched up face and spotted his daughter rounding the corner. His face brightened in relief. "Penelope! Good morning, Slugger! How about some cocoa?"

"Sure! Hey, Sheldon."

"Good morning…Penelope. You never told me your name was short for Penelope," he tilted his head and blinked with amusement.

"And you never told me your MeeMaw calls you MoonPie," she grinned.

"MoonPie?" Wyatt snickered.

Sheldon twitched uncomfortably on his stool, muttering his usual schpeal about his MeeMaw.

"Dad—"

Wyatt held up his hands in defeat and went back to putting the finishing touches on their drinks. "Sorry, sorry, won't mention it again."

"So what drug the great Sheldon Cooper out of his room on a Saturday?" Penny inquired.

"Christmas." Sheldon grumbled while blowing across the top of his mug.

"Christmas?" Wyatt cut in.

Sheldon sighed. "Yes, Christmas, Mr. Widmore. Or Saturnalia if you prefer."

"I'm sorry, what now?" Penny's arched an eyebrow and leaned against the kitchen island across from his daughter's peculiar friend.

"Saturnalia. In pre-Christian times, just as the winter solstice was coming and the plants were dying, pagans would bring evergreen boughs inside their homes in an act of sympathetic magic attempting to keep their plants alive until the spring. Eventually this was adapted by the Northern Europeans and it became what you now know as the Christmas tree."

"Right…you kids enjoy your cocoa now. I think I need to lie back down." Wyatt smirked and rubbed the base of his temples.

Penny sipped at her mug. "Mmm, wow, this is really yummy! Did mom buy a different kind?"

Wyatt laughed, "Nope, same kind, Slugger, Sheldon had some suggestions as to how it was made."

"Well it sure beats moms."

"Of course it does, Penny, there is only one correct way to make cocoa," Sheldon said with an affirmed nod and drank from his own cup.

"Don't let her mother hear that. You kids have fun, and Sheldon?"

"Sir?"

"For the love of Pete, put on a damn jacket."

Sheldon waited until Penny's father was out of sight before he leaned over and whispered to her. "Penny…who is Pete?"

* * *

Sheldon stood in the center of Penny's room, mouth twitching uncomfortably and hands firmly behind his back. Penny giggled.

"Yeah, sorry, it's a bit of a mess."

"A bit, Penny? The Galveston County landfill is a _bit of a mess,_" Sheldon grimaced.

"Shut up!" she laughed, "Just because I don't make my bed the minute I wake up and I have some clothes on the floor doesn't make my room the same as the _dump."_

"Says you."

Penny huffed and gathered up the clothes and carried them off to the hamper that was in the bathroom down the hall. Successfully getting rid of most of her mess.

"Happy?" she sneered.

"I'm not unhappy…the bed-"

"Sit, MoonPie!" she commanded, pointing to a desk chair.

"Only MeeMaw calls me, MoonPie," he sulked, but did as she requested.

Sheldon watched out her window as his mother, Missy and Junior dragged box after box out from their shed into the front lawn and began to unpack each of their unsightly decorations. He actually shuddered when his mother gave one of the plastic reindeer a pat on the rump.

"I don't see the big deal, Shelly. It's just some silly decorations; I like to decorate for Christmas." Penny shrugged. Mary knew her boy was hiding out at the Widmore's and glanced up at Penny's window and gave a hearty smile and a wave which Penny happily returned. If Mary would have had it her way those decorations would have been up the day after Thanksgiving. But Sheldon would have pitched one of his fits and no one wanted to deal with that.

"Don't see the big deal?!" he all but shrieked, his little twang in full force. "Penny, my mother does not just _decorate_ for this god awful pagan holiday; she feels the urge to coat the entire house in some sort of Holiday evil. Have you ever been watched by a hundred Santa Claus statues while on your way to empty your bladder? It's enough to make me request my own toilet for the remaining month of the year."

Penny laughed. "Santa Claus isn't evil, Sheldon!"

"Of course not, Penny, don't be ridiculous. It's the sheer thought of Holidays at the Cooper household that is the source," he stated dryly as he stared unblinkingly out the window. "Look at them all…all those hideous inflatable creatures terrorizing my lawn, that oversized plastic manger that has seen better years." He looked over at Penny, "Baby Jesus has long been replaced by one of Missy's cabbage patch dolls." His eyes started to twitch as Junior dragged out the ladder and began to attach lights to their front porch. "Ugh, and the lights, sweet sufferin' Jesus she uses enough lights to send the whole block into a power outage. I had to build her a surge protector you know. Not to mention the ones that blink. I believe my mother is the sole cause of more than half the epileptic seizures in the neighborhood."

Penny smirked. "You know, Sheldon, my dad decorates the house too. We just haven't done it yet."

"Oh, lord," he began to whine, "please, Penny, please refrain from using any blinking lights, I just couldn't bring myself to come over here if you too had succumbed to the horrors of my mother's overbearing Christmas spirit."

Penny risked reaching over and patting his knee. "No blinking ones, I promise."

Sheldon smiled softly, his cheeks tinting pink. "Thank you."

"No problem. But you're coming to Moody Gardens with me tomorrow," Penny's face broke out into a full-fledged grin.

"BUT PENNY! That place is one nothing but one big Christmas nightmare this time of year!" he squealed.

"I know," she beamed. "C'mon, Shelly, do it for me…please," Penny pouted.

"Fine. But no if I see one blinking light on your house I'll…I'll…

"You'll what?"

Sheldon frowned and stared at the floor. "I'll let you know when I think of something."

* * *

Sheldon sat scowling in the back of the Widmore's family car all the way to Moody Gardens while Penny sat beside him with a big ole' grin smeared across her face. Tommy felt he had outgrown such activities.

"_I'm fourteen mom, god!" he had huffed when her mother had tried to get him to come along on a nice_ _family outing for a change. _

"_You know, Thomas you actually have a family. One that will still be here when those delinquents you hang around with are hauled off to juvie," she scolded with her hands firmly planted on her hips. _

"_Whatever, I'm still not going. Penny's dragging along that little creep from next door anyway."_

"_Sheldon is a nice boy, Tommy, strange…but nice, and he is your sister's friend so at least try to act civil towards him."_

"_Whatever."_

So now, sitting in Tommy spot on the other side of Penny sat Missy, quietly bopping her head along to the carols on the radio. Clearly she did not share her brother's feelings on the Christmas...or Saturnalia…holiday.

Penny adored Christmas time, the music, the television specials, the lights (although she did agree Mrs. Cooper did overdo it), and the snow. There still hadn't been any snow in Galveston; she was beginning to wonder if it was even going to snow at all. MeeMaw had assured her that eventually they would see some sort of snowfall by the time Christmas rolled around while baking cookies last week, but that was only a little over a week away and the chances were looking dim. Penny hadn't even had to break out her heavy winter coat.

They pulled up and the girls spilled out the car excitedly while Sheldon drug his feet behind them. Penny's mother was quick to usher them under the festive Moody Gardens lit up sign and made them group together for a picture. Missy threw her arm around Penny's shoulder and smiled brightly and Sheldon was…well Sheldon and stood a few steps away from the girls, hands stiff in his jacket pocket.

"How about a smile Sheldon, for your mother, poor thing hardly has any pictures of you smilin' in them." Penny's mother tried to coax him.

"Oh I bet she'd love that. Me, surrounded by all this Holiday hokum with a forged smile upon my face," Sheldon grumbled.

Penny leaned in his direction and tugged on the back of his winter cap. "You give my mom a nice smile, Sheldon and there'll be a new comic book in it for you," she whispered.

Sheldon pursed his lips and glared at her, debating if the offer was seriously worth it or not. He enjoyed spending time with Penny, much more than he'd care to admit, even if they got on each other's nerves more often than not. She was only nine after all, a year and a half younger than he and while she was not, as his mother would say, 'as dumb as soup' she was nowhere his level. Nobody was. The thing was with Penny is that she understood that and she didn't judge him for it. She liked him just the way he was Big brained whack-a-doodle and all. He gave her a single nod and stepped up beside Penny, shuffling his feet in the leaves on the pathway. Penny went up on tiptoe and mimicked Missy in throwing her arm around his shoulder, dragging him down to her level. He hissed and tried to pull away but she only tightened her grip around his neck.

"Smile big MoonPie!" Penny sneered into his ear, "Before I plant a fat wet kiss on that pink cheek of yours."

"This deems two comic books, _Penelope_," he uttered.

"Soooo worth it," Penny grinned.

* * *

Sheldon thought it was bad enough that he had to endure the paths filled with lighted Christmas scenery and doting families singing carols all around them, oh no, his night was only going to get worse when Missy and Penny began to drag him to the ice rink.

"No." He stated firmly and tried to hold his ground. A feat that did little good when your about as skinny as a rail and being yanked by two girls, the younger one being twice as strong as you.

"C'mon, Shelly Bean, don't tell me you don't know how 'cause we both know that's just a lie. And Jesus don't like it when you lie," Missy pleaded as she dragged him along.

"MeeMaw and PopPop used to have a private lake, Melissa, that was different. Do you have any idea how many pathogens that are brewing out there? I believe I'm contracting something just standing in the vicinity of the area!"

"It gets cold enough for a lake to freeze in Galveston?" Penny quipped.

"Lord no! My PopPop had a vacation home in Toronto; we have spent a few family vacations there. I'm still not skating." Sheldon pouted.

"Two comic books and I'll convince your mom to take us to that silly train museum you're always yapping about," Penny stepped up and countered with narrowed eyes.

"The Galveston railroad museum?!" Sheldon couldn't help but perk up just a little bit; he did love trains after all.

"Yep."

Sheldon's lips twitched when he looked out at all the people skating around that germ infested frozen petri dish…drat, he really did love trains.

"What are you waiting for, girls? Let's get a move on!"

* * *

Penny was shocked at how good he was, slinking in and out between each of the couples with ease. Or perhaps he was dodging any chance of contact. He kept his hands in his pockets most of the time, unless he was creeping up behind Missy and taking the time to tug on her hair before he glided on past her with a smirk. So the little dork was enjoying himself after all. He looked so goofy in his oversized green knitted hat and his bulky jacket combined with his khaki pants. One hundred percent goofy and one hundred percent Sheldon.

She came up behind him and tapped his shoulder before darting to the other side, grinning when he turned and she wasn't there. She pushed forward to get ahead of him and spun around backwards without missing a beat and grinned.

"Boo!"

"Boo yourself," he replied with a slight smile.

"I know you're enjoying yourself, MoonPie," she teased.

"Just making the best out of a terrible situation, _Penelope," _he shrugged. "And please do refrain from calling me MoonPie."

"Nope," she popped with a laugh.

Sheldon shook his head. "Then at least turn back around before you bring some sort of harm to yourself."

"Sheldon, Sheldon, Sheldon, I'm from Nebraska…I might as well have been born in skates."

"Funny, I figured you would have been born with a gun in your hand," he mulled.

"That too," she chuckled with a bounce of her eyebrows. She did however honor his request and spin back around. Naturally Penny being Penny didn't notice the boy coming up on Sheldon's side and the tip of her skate hooked with his and she landed flat on her back. Sheldon spun around in his spot and slid over to her crouching by her side.

"Penny! Oh lord, Penny are you all right?!"

"Are you kidding me? Is she alright? I nearly knocked my head on the ice!" The other boy was fuming.

"Yes, well you should have been watching where you were going. She's half your size for goodness sake!" Sheldon spat back.

Penny groaned and rubbed her shoulder. "Sheldon its fine."

"Fine?! Fine?! How exactly is it fine Penny!? You could have had a concussion! All because that brut wasn't paying attention." He took her arm and scooped his arm around her waist and helped her onto her feet.

Sheldon Cooper was actually touching her. Not just touching, but willingly help her bruised self-off the ice without any bribery or twitching what so ever.

"She's got eyes too you know, buddy!"

"And as I said, maybe she was just too small to see a fifteen year old neanderthal barreling towards her with no regard to anyone but himself. Shame on you," he reprimanded the boy with a hard scowl on his face. Penny swore if his arms wouldn't have been holding her up he would have shaken a finger at the kid.

Sheldon led Penny to the exit and helped her sit down on a bench and began to undo her skates.

"Sheldon, I can take off my skates."

"Nonsense, Penny. Lord knows what you might have injured when you fell. I am perfectly capable of performing such a simple task. Now, where are your shoes?"

"Sheldon, I'm fine, it was just a little slip and fall."

"Shoes, Penny," he repeated with determination.

"My shoes, Sheldon? The same shoes I went trampling through the mud with, the shoes that Mrs. Jursten's dog had hanging in his mouth, the shoes that I wear on _the bus_." Penny arched an eyebrow and waited.

"Perhaps you are right, Penny. You do seem to be fine after all." He nodded quickly. "I'm glad by the way; I would have hated to spend my winter break alone while you were in a hospital bed. Besides then we would have had to miss the train museum." His cheeks went a shade darker and he began to fidget with his hands.

"Thanks, Sheldon, I would have missed you too."

* * *

The three of them piled back into the back seat of the car a little more cherry and a lot more tired out than they were only a handful of hours ago. It was a short drive back to Penny's house, maybe a half an hour with the traffic, but it didn't matter; all three of them were asleep by the time they pulled into the drive way. Missy leaning on Penny and Penny by default leaning on Sheldon, his head surprisingly enough was slightly turned towards hers instead of being pressed up against the window.

Wyatt put the car into park and turned to look at the sleeping children in the back.

"I told you about the cocoa thing right?" he whispered to his wife.

"Yea," she laughed, "he's an odd little thing, isn't he?"

"Mmm," Wyatt hummed in return.

Penny's mother clicked on the overhead light and pulled out her camera and snapped her final picture of the evening. And even if that picture caused three grumpy kids to moan and groan and the two adults in front of them as they pushed their way out of the car; it was one picture out of many that would become a treasured item in both households.

* * *

.

**A/N: D'Awwww how cute are they! A full on Young!Shenny fluff chappy just for you in honor of tonight's Saturnalia Episode. Did you guys watch it? I actually liked it. Besides Amy suggesting they drag guys into the bathroom! Seriously? WTF was up with that?! I may not be all about the Lenny but I seriously doubt Penny would do anything like that. That look she gave her was killer. ANYWAY...I know the Festival of Lights thing has only been going on for about ten years or so...but this is AU and I wanted them to go, so they went. And I hoped you enjoyed it because it was lots of fun to write. As always you know I love to hear you're thoughts. And to my guest reviewers that I had last time, Thanks guys! you guys are awesome! You all are. Lets try to bump this baby up to 40 reviews before I Update yeah? I'd be one happy girl!**

**OHHHH also...anyone catch Penny's name by any chance.'****Penny Widmore'...get it? get it? Well I hope some of you do :D I haven't seen it done yet and was actually kind of shocked. Okay...I'm going to bed now.**

**Shelly! **


	5. Chapter 5

**The University Quarrel**

And so it was the day before Christmas Eve when they took the drive to the Galveston Railroad Museum; the tables were turned, as it was Sheldon with a big fat grin on his face and Penny who was sitting stone faced as she stared out the window. Missy as well as Junior had opted to stay home all together. Neither one of them wanted to be around their brother when he was in one of 'elements'.

"Were you aware, Penny, that Galveston Railroad museum does not only have one of the largest collections in the south west, it is also one of the five largest railroad museums in the country," Sheldon beamed.

"No, Sheldon, I wasn't," Penny replied dryly.

"Oh, Penny," he sighed with a heavy smirk, "you're in for quite the treat indeed."

"So, darlin', you have any family comin' in from Nebraska for the holidays?" Mrs. Cooper asked her from the front seat. As grateful as Penny was that she changed the subject she couldn't ignore the sharp tug in her chest that she would be spending her Christmas in a strange place this year.

"No, Mrs. Cooper. My gran was going to fly out, but she decided to come in the spring instead."

"Well, ya'll can always come over to our house, the more the merrier," she smiled.

"Mother, I'm sure Penny's family doesn't want to be caught up in the middle of your Holiday horror story," Sheldon scolded with a shake of the head.

Penny instinctively slapped his knee and his back went rigid, shooting her an icy glare. "Thank you," Penny nodded before muttering lowly so only Sheldon could hear. "She was only trying to be nice, Sheldon!"

"Nice would have been allowing me to miss partaking in the god awful family ritual all together," he shot back with an arched brow.

* * *

They all respectively kept their mouths shut until they reached the museum. Every now and then Sheldon would attempt to squeeze in a "Did you know," or an "Interesting fact about…" and Penny would send him a look across the back seat that was meant to kill; successfully shutting his lips and sending his eyes into twitching fits. Mary watched from the rearview mirror with bemused eyes.

They pulled into the parking lot and Sheldon raced out of the car and went to stand at the trunk, bouncing on the heels of his feet.

"Moommm, come on!" he whined.

Mary chuckled at the sight, "All right, Shelly Bean, hold your horses." She popped the trunk open and Sheldon reached in and grabbed his little train conductor hat and slipped it over his head, he then reached back in and snagged a small paper bag and handed it out to Penny who had finally emerged by his side. He nodded for her to take it and she wrapped her fingers around the edges carefully.

Penny peered inside and scoffed at the striped blue and white material inside. "Are you serious?" she laughed.

"Always," Sheldon blinked while cocking his head to the side. His lips turned down slightly, "Penny, it's only logical you wear the proper head gear if you're going to be riding on an actual train."

"Shelly, we're gonna miss that train if you don't stop lollygaggin'." Mrs. Cooper patted him softly on the shoulder and his face noticeably scrunched momentarily.

"I sincerely doubt that, as it is only now a quarter after noon and the Harborside Express runs from eleven a.m. until two p.m. and boards every twenty minutes. My mother only wants to get this day over with so she can get back to whatever Holiday church event we are most likely keeping her from." Sheldon made his statement with his usual flat tone but added a slow grin to the end.

Penny had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "Sheldon, that's just mean," she half giggled.

The pair of them fell into step behind his mother as she led them to the entrance, continuing their hushed conversation.

"I have to agree, Penny, those poor people won't get to hear the screeching caroling styles of Mary Cooper this year. What a shame indeed."

Penny had noticed that the wry grin had never left his face and she took the opportunity to gently nudge him with her shoulder. He let out a breathy laugh.

"I sincerely hope you enjoy the train ride, Penny. Mom has been on it so many times she doesn't care to go anymore so when we come I'm usually forced to go alone. I don't mind of course…but it's always nice to have company."

Penny nudged him again. "All aboard, MoonPie!"

Penny found she actually did enjoy their short train ride. Mary, as suspected, opted to sit out and let the two of them ride alone, but made them promise to behave because as always, "Jesus is watching."

They had their option to either be on the outside or the inside deck of the little blue caboose, Penny tried and failed to convince him to ride on the outside. He kept muttering on about swallowing a bug and how neither of them was dressed warmly enough to be outside while aboard a moving train car. But she didn't mind, because his face was priceless.

Yes he still rambled on about pointless train facts and about how much coal it would take for a train to get her from Galveston to Omaha (212.52 tons approximately), just in case she ever wanted to visit her former home she would have a handy fact at the ready.

"But what if we went by plane?" Penny asked

"Don't be ridiculous, Penny, why would you want to do that after tasting the thrill of the rails!" he beamed. Oh, and it was a full smile, not his shy little smile he shot at her from across the lunch table, or even the ones he shared with her while they were doing her homework and she finally understood it. This was a full-fledged happy Sheldon Lee Cooper; she adored it.

And from that moment on, with him sitting there in his silly little hat that flopped over his ears and a smile that made his eyes shine; Penny knew she never wanted to let him go.

* * *

Christmas morning came and went; Penny and her family woke at the crack of dawn as they did every year, her and Tommy opening their presents while her parents sat happily nearby sipping coffee and yawning. Her mother had mentioned something briefly that Mary had stopped by and invited them over for dinner but Penny had insisted that she thought they should have a small family dinner with just the four of them. The last thing she wanted was to deal with a twitchy Sheldon on Christmas.

She did want to see him though, she hadn't seen him since their trip to the museum and she had to give him his gift after all.

So she waited, most of the trucks and cars in his driveway had left and the sun was now close to setting. She raced down the stairs with the little red gift bag in hand, yellow tissue paper not the traditional green, almost bumping into her father on the way.

"Off to see Sheldon, Slugger?" he grinned down at her, giving her hair a light ruffle.

"Yup! I'll be back before dark," she called, grabbing her coat and slamming the door behind her.

Penny hummed along to the Christmas themed door chime as she waited for someone to appear, bouncing on her toes in her jeans and her little red reindeer sweater. The door cracked and the shortened form of MeeMaw appeared, the corners of her eyes crinkling when she beamed a hello at Penny.

"Merry Christmas, PennyBlossom! I was wonderin' if you were going to stop in today."

"Merry Christmas, MeeMaw! I wanted to wait until things died down around here."

"Aahh yes," she sighed, "my MoonPie isn't very fond of company, 'cept you of course," she laughed. "He's upstairs pumpkin', I'm sure he love to see a friendly face that won't want to pinch his." She stepped aside and let her in.

"Thanks."

* * *

Penny rapped lightly on his door and called his name. His door opened a crack and she was greeted with a pair of steel blue eyes before he opened it fully with a forced smile, nodding for her to come in.

"Hello, Penny. I trust you're having a festive Saturnalia."

Penny chuckled and shook her head. "Merry Christmas, MoonPie." She stuck out her arm, offering the bag to him.

"How many times must I tell you, only MeeMaw…what is that?" His gaze fell to the bag and he took a step back.

"Your…Saturnalia…present," she said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Oh, no, Penny, you can't do that. I haven't gotten you anything. Social convention states that…"

"Oh shut it, Sheldon!" she cut him off, "I didn't buy it, I spent my allowance on your stinkin' comic books and stuff for my parents. So just open it okay?"

He shifted uncomfortable in place before staggering over to her and plucking the bag from her fingers. Sheldon gingerly lifted the tissue out of the bag and dumped a smaller item wrapped in paper into his hand. It was a red flower with glittering yellow stones in the middle and was that a…hair clip on the back?

"Penny, while I appreciate the color scheme…did you perhaps mistake my gift for Missy's?" he asked quizzically.

Penny snickered. "No you dork, I made it and mom suggested I call it a Penny Blossom. Well that reminded me of your MeeMaw, which reminded me of you, and well…" she sighed, "maybe it was stupid after all."

"No, not at all," he said softly with a smile. It wasn't as big as his train smile, but it was just as genuine. He placed it up on the shelf next to his Flash figure with care. "Thank you, Penny."

"Well, ain't that sweet," George Cooper's voice drawled from the doorway, "maybe they'll let you bring it to that fancy new school of 'yers."

Sheldon's breath visibly hitched and Penny shot him a confused look.

"What? He's talking about the Middle School right, Sheldon?" Penny's voice went up an octave and her little heart started to race.

Sheldon only bit his lower lip pleading with his eyes for her to understand before he shot his father a hateful glare.

"Are you going to the Middle School next year Sheldon?" she asked wearily.

He shook his head no.

"Okay," Penny smiled nervously, "Well then you and that big brain of yours must be going to the High School. Right?"

"Go on, boy, tell 'yer little friend all about it. Give someone else to blubber 'bout 'ya besides 'yer mother," George sneered.

"Hey, dad," Junior's head appeared behind his father and was now trying to pry him away. "Let's leave the kiddies be, huh? I think Stumpy is lookin' for 'ya."

Sheldon was now twitching in his spot, his hands twisting around each other shooting looks between his family members and Penny. If it were only High School why did he look like a nervous wreck? Was he scared he was going to get picked on even more? No, Junior would be there to watch his back, even if was only going to be a freshman himself. Penny tried again.

"Sheldon?"

"Let's go dad," Junior continued to pull and George stood his ground.

Sheldon closed his eyes and took a breath before slowly walking over to his desk and picking up a letter off the top. It had been read well over a hundred times by the looks of it, the paper softened by the continuous creases being done over and over again. He handed it to Penny and looked away.

Penny had to re-read the header several times to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. "University of Texas…Austin. College, Sheldon? You're leaving? Was this what that ever growing knowledge crap was about?!" she spat out at him, her voice rising.

"Aw, shit!" Junior cursed. "Now look what you went and done." He gave his father a final tug and with a glorified smirk George Cooper finally gave in to the elder boy and stomped down the stairs.

"Were you going to tell me?"

"Yes," he finally whispered, but his eyes still refused to meet hers.

"When? The day before you left?!"

"No!" he shouted back with a twang.

"And everyone knew? Everyone but me, your whole family?"

Sheldon gazed down at his feet. "Your parents know as well."

That was it, Penny couldn't take anymore. For the past nine months she had befriended this boy when no one else would, had become his best friend and now he was leaving and she was the last to know. By the looks of it he would have preferred not to tell her all together.

Sheldon took a tentative step towards her. "Penny, are you upset with me?" His voice was meek and quiet and still his words stung worse than the sting of any wasp.

"No, Sheldon," she swallowed down the lump that was rising in her throat and refused the tears that were threatening the backs of her eyes. "I'm disappointed." For a second distraught green eyes met an ocean of blue before she blinked and an inevitable tear slid out and fell down her cheek. Penny spun on her heel and ran down the stairs, ignoring the shouts of Holiday wishes from the rest of the Cooper clan. She bolted out the door and straight past her house into the welcoming branches of the woods beyond the neighborhood; to hell with her parents, they had betrayed her has well.

* * *

Penny scrambled up a tree and tightened the grasp on her coat, blinking up at the rising moon. It was full and looked almost blue against the fading sky. She hated it in that moment; it reminded her of Sheldon and his whack-a-doodle brain. He had known for months that he was leaving, they all did. How could they not tell her?

Penny snuggled against the trunk and gave one last look up to the sky, a flutter of white danced down and landed down on her cheek.

It had finally snowed. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear Mrs. Cooper telling her it was Jesus trying to cheer her up, and maybe it might have, if it hadn't been one of the worst days of her young life. She blew a breath into her hands and warmed up her face, shoving her head down into the neck of her jacket and falling asleep to the silence of snowfall.

* * *

It had been Mrs. Jursten who had found her while walking her dog. Her small body shivering up in that tree just a few yards into the woods. She had called her husband to come and help the poor thing down and then carried her home to her worried parents, who tucked her into bed, frowning at the fever that was already forming.

Sheldon felt everything was his fault. Penny ran off because she was mad at him, she was now sick because of him, she had been sad because of him. He had made her cry and that made him feel funny. Sure he had made Missy cry, but her eyebrows had just been burnt off, this was a different kind of cry. He had asked his mother to make her some soup and she walked him over there that night so he could deliver it in person. He insisted he could do it on his own but she insisted on tagging along to offer her parents any help that they may need.

She was sleeping, of course she was, sleep was good for a fever. Or at least that's what his MeeMaw had once told him. He left the soup in the kitchen and crept up the stairs, letting himself in her room. The door was cracked, which by technicality was open after all.

He smiled at the soft snores that filled the room, quietly tiptoeing over and pulling her chair over to the side of her bed. He watched her sleep for a few moments, not sure on how to proceed. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Penny, I'm, I…" Sheldon took a breath and decided that Penny, no matter if he up and left for Austin she would have to remain in his life one way or another. She drove him crazy, his family actually liked her, where else was he going to find another friend like that.

Nowhere.

He sighed and softly he began to sing.

"Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur,

Happy kitty, sleepy, kitty,

pur, pur, pur."

He glanced back at her sleeping body with a frown before getting up and switching off her bedside light, shutting her door silently as he left. Sheldon had made it two steps down the hall when his ears picked up her cracked voice.

"I'll miss you MoonPie."

.

* * *

**A/N:Okay, I think I fixed everything. So sorry if you read this the first time I put it up at 4am...it was awful! lol It's better now. More love to all my lovely reviewers, I still can't believe how amazing you guys are being. (pssst you guys that have me on alert, don't be afraid to say hello!). Things are going to start skipping forward soon, just fair warning...or prepare to be excited...I don't know, take your pick :D Thanks again guys, you're all made of awesomesauce!**

**Shelly**


	6. Chapter 6

**The Zoological Familiarity**

It wasn't as if Penny could stay mad at him for long, it was like a never ending game with them. Fight, make up, fight, make up; each tryst a little more annoying and carefree than the last. Although the topic of Austin had been neither, it had brought nothing but heartache so they never discussed it. She tried to bring it up a few times, but was quickly shot down. Sheldon didn't do things he didn't want to do, instead he found ways around them. Like when Wyatt took just the two of them to the arcade after her birthday party just so he didn't have to endure her other friends. There was no other way around this. None. It was simply a matter he would not talk about until the time came. And the more they ignored it the quicker it seemed to creep up behind them.

The school year ended and they spent the majority of their summer in each other's company, Penny even got him to venture off into the woods and sit by the brook on occasion. She always brought a blanket so he wouldn't have to risk sitting in the dirt and if this was the only way he would get to see her in his last two months here than he would undergo the cruel wrath of Mother Nature.

Freckling be damned.

They still didn't talk though, even while they sat there on her blanket no words were shared between them on the subject of him leaving. Penny would only lie on her back; sunbeams bouncing off her flaxen hair while he sat with a straight back and watched the water wash over stones.

But now they were a little over a week out and things were getting tense between them. Penny would pick fights with just about anyone; she even got short with Mary on more than one occasion.

"_Well now, you just run home and get some sleep, baby girl. I'll pray Jesus helps us all get through this mess together," Mary sighed and gave her a hug, turning Penny into a sobbing mess._

* * *

All she wanted was one good day. One good day with Sheldon before he left her for who knows how long. It took a good bit of convincing to talk Junior into driving them to Huston, he hadn't had his leaners permit long(and had acquired it nearly a year later than he should have) but he had been driving his drunken father home since he was eight years old anyhow, the problem was if they got caught by his 'bible thumpin' momma', or pulled over.

"Tommy's got a friend who can get us a car," Penny shrugged.

"Aww no, little Miss. I like you an' all, but I know that brother of yours and the kind he runs around with," Junior scowled.

Penny clicked her tongue against her teeth. "It's not like that, Junior! He got in trouble and can't drive it right now, that's all."

Junior crossed his arms over his chest and cast a narrowed eyed look at her. "I don't know, Penn."

"Georgie, please," she began to whine and bounce on her toes. "I've saved all summer for us to be able to go; you know how much he loves monkeys."

Junior gave her a smile and a little laugh, "Yeah he does." His face went stern and he held up a finger, "Okay, one: _do not _call me _Georgie_!" He shook off a shudder and groaned, "My lord, I hate that." He continued on by holding up two fingers and shaking them at her. "Two: momma or MeeMaw ever finds out I'm rattin' you two out quicker than a mouse on a piece of cheese." Junior held up the final trio of fingers. "And third—"

"Geez, Junior, we going to see monkeys or to kill someone?" Penny interrupted.

He knelt down to her level, blue eyes staring intently into her suddenly nervous green ones. "Third Penny, you best find a way to stay friends with him. I don't care if that crazy kid moves to the moon. Understand?"

"He's not crazy, Georgie; your mother had him tested."

* * *

Sheldon wasn't all that happy about his elder brother driving illegally with some strangers car, he complained about their safety, about the possibility that they could get pulled over at any given moment, that Junior wasn't sufficient guardianship if, god forbid, anything should happen to them.

"It's fine Sheldon, were not even going to be an hour away," Penny argued.

"One in three road accidents happen within a mile of the home, distance is not a factor here, Penelope."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Look Sheldon, my parents had to work today, as did your mom and your dad…well…yeah…Junior was really our own option seeing as MeeMaw doesn't drive."

Sheldon had his hands firmly gripped behind his back and was staring at the beater in Penny's driveway with pursed lips.

"I just wanted one last fun day with you," she scoffed while shaking her head, her voice dropping to a low tone. "I don't know why I expected any differently. Wishful thinking I guess." She really should have known he would have been like this, heck it was to be expected. She just wished it didn't hurt. She spun away from him to keep him from seeing the dampness in her eyes (not that it mattered) and she began to walk back towards the house.

Penny didn't know what hurt worse, the look he gave her when she closed her front door or the way just waltzed back to his own home without second thought.

* * *

"Sorry, Penn," Junior frowned, patting her shoulder as he took a seat across from her on the couch. "I knew he wouldn't be happy about it, but I thought just maybe, seein' how it was you an' all."

"Whatever." Penny tucked her knees to her chest and clicked on the TV. It didn't matter what was on, so long as it tuned out the pounding in her head.

They watched some nature show and it only annoyed her more. _Stupid monkeys_ she thought _of course it had to be monkeys_. She couldn't bring herself to change it though; her eyes simply stared into the screen as if it were the last thing on earth.

"You don't have to stay, Junior, I don't need a baby sitter," she said dryly after a few moments.

"True," he shrugged," but all I got across the yard is a pair of younger siblings and a grandmother and a father that will be going at each other all day until my momma gets home. Let me enjoy the peace for a moment, kay?"

Penny nodded sympathetically. She liked Junior, more often than not she had wished for an older brother like him rather than Tommy. Not that she didn't love her brother, she just wished they were closer; Junior was actually nice to her. It must be a Cooper thing she realized…with the exception of George, he wasn't really nice to anyone.

"I busted Tommy smoking dope last week." Penny didn't know why the confession decided to spill out suddenly, she just felt the need to tell someone and it wasn't something she could have shared with Sheldon. Well, she could of, but he wouldn't understand.

Junior arched an eyebrow, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"Mom and I stopped to get gas after we went shopping, I had to pee and it was one of them stations with the outside restrooms—"

"The horror!" Junior gasped

"I know, don't tell Sheldon," she giggled. "Anyway, he was there with a bunch of his older friends around the back of the building. He threatened to beat on me if I said anything to our parents."

"And did you?"

"God no! I might be a junior rodeo champ, but so was my brother, and he's a heck of a lot bigger than me!"

Junior smirked. "Look Penn, my daddy might be a raging drunk and not the nicest man on the planet, but in the end he is still my father. Tommy is your brother, I know he gets into a lil' trouble, but one day it might end up being a whole hell of a lot of trouble. So you just make sure you're still there for him when it happens." Junior sighed and shook his head. "Lord knows momma still is."

A blanket of silence hung in the air and the two of them exchanged fleeting looks every so often, neither of them paying any bother to what was playing on the television. Junior jumped in his seat when a knock came at the door.

_Knock, Knock, Knock, _"Penny."

_Knock, Knock, Knock, _"Penny."

_Knock, Knock, Knock, _"Penny."

Penny shot an annoyed glare at the entry way.

"You better get it before he starts again," Junior muttered.

Penny snapped open the door and stared up at him with a hand firmly glued to her hip. "What do you want, Sheldon?"

Sheldon glanced back to the strange car that was still sitting stationary in her drive way and began chewing on his bottom lip. He took a step backward and twitched his nose.

"I'm waiting." Penny tapped her foot impatiently.

Sheldon pulled up his layered shirts and folded down the top waistband of his pants to expose a second dark brown khaki waist band beneath. "Penny, as I don't have 'strange car pants' I had to make do with my 'bus pants' I hope this is acceptable. I have taken into account Junior's driving skills and have come to the decision that, while he will be doing it illegally, he is more than efficient to drive us to our destination. He has after all been escorting my inebriated father around town since the age of eight."

"What exactly are you saying, Sheldon?" she asked with a winning smile.

"I am proposing, Penny, that we get in that apparent death trap of a vehicle with my brother, and depart on whatever expedition you had originally planned for today."

Penny let out a small squeal of joy and couldn't help but launch herself at him and yank him down into a hug. Sheldon let out an uncomfortable "EEP!" and his arms went rigid at his sides as she squeezed him tightly. "Oh, thank you Sheldon!"

"While I'm glad you're thankful, Penny, could you please be so kind as to remove yourself from my person."

"Sweet Jesus, Shelly," Junior laughed from behind them. "You're lucky Penny gets you and all your crazy, anyone else would have shoved you face first into the dirt for that comment."

Penny released him and placed a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, Sheldon, I…I just got a little excited."

"Yes, well, I suppose it was bound to happen. You are rather…excitable," he droned smoothing out his shirts.

"Great, now that we're all honkey dory, let's get this show on the road!" Junior clapped his brother on the back as he passed by; smirking at the wince Sheldon gave in reaction.

They piled into the small car, Sheldon and Penny in the back and Sheldon giving Junior reminders to double check all his mirrors before setting the car in motion. Sheldon sat with his hands firmly in his lap and his back straight, attempting not to budge an inch. He about lost it when he spotted a cheeseburger wrapper on the floor board. Penny only laughed and shoved it in the cup holder which made matters worse because she had now touched the foul object. Lucky for her Sheldon had a packet of antibacterial wipes in his pocket and happily procured one for her.

"So, where are we headed?" Sheldon asked after he calmed down.

"It's a surprise," Penny grinned.

"But, Penny, you know how much I dislike surprises!" he whined.

"Yup, sure do, but you'll like this one."

"You can't possibly know that," he snorted.

"I can, Sheldon, and I do."

* * *

When Junior veered off 45 and got into the lane that merged with 288 Sheldon's bright baby blues expanded and his mouth widened into a bright smile. Penny dang near swore it was just as swell as his train smile and she laughed a little at the sight.

"We're going to the zoo!" he whispered excitedly, "Penny, you've arranged for Junior to take us to the zoo!" He looked over at her, his hands still firmly in his lap but his knees were now visibly bouncing up and down.

"Told you, MoonPie," she grinned.

"I'm not even going to scold you for that, Penny; I am in far too great of a mood now." He leaned forward and stretched his neck to catch a glimpse of the entrance as they pulled into the parking lot. It was busy, naturally, it was summer after all, but he didn't complain. Not once. Nope, Sheldon just sat by with that gleeful smile on his face while Junior circled until he crammed the car into a space between two large pick-up trucks.

Sheldon was the first one out, shocking everyone by shedding his 'strange car' slash 'bus pants', right there in the parking lot. He took a moment to fold them up and place them on the back seat before taking out a wipe and cleaning his hands.

"Well, come on, chop, chop!" he clapped his hands together and gazed longingly at the gates in the distance.

"Gee whiz, Shelly Bean, calm your horses," Junior laughed, "Them animals aint goin' anywhere."

Sheldon's face twitched at Junior's grammar but he remarkably said nothing in retort. "Be that as it may, I still wish to see as much as possible before we have to be back. Penny?"

She cocked her head to the side in question. "Sheldon?"

He stalked over and tucked his hand under her elbow and began to drag her along the sidewalk, leaving Junior to follow along behind them. "We mustn't dawdle, Penny." He said simply as he pulled her along.

Penny smirked and shook her head in defeat, shooting a shrug back at Junior and allowing her friend to tug her all the way to the ticket booth.

She happily forked over the allowance money she had been and they coasted inside. Well she and Junior coasted, Sheldon practically skipped.

"So where do we start, MoonPie?" Penny called ahead to him.

"Well, Penny, we could start with the sea lions, seeing as it is the closest, and then head down the right of the map until we reach the giraffes and come back around. Or we could cut down the middle and start with the giraffes and end with the sea lions. So long as we avoid that god awful bird section to the left and I get to see monkeys I could care less."

That sat through the sea lion session with the keepers, although Sheldon insisted on talking in Penny's ear the whole time filling in his own facts as they went along. They watched the elephants munch on their afternoon snack and Penny cooed at a baby who followed relentlessly after its mother, they wandered over to the cats section and watched them prowl over their habitats with grace (while Penny thought of that song he had sung to her while he assumed she was still asleep). Bears, rhinos, tortoises, reptiles, many, many animals and many, many Sheldon Cooper facts to go along with them, and then came the monkeys. They visited the Wortham World of Primates first, Penny's hand gliding down the rail of the boardwalk as they came across various enclosures.

Sheldon stood with his hands clasped behind his back and watched with wonder as they climbed from branch to branch, some of them offering food to one another, others playing keep away with a red ball. And all the while Sheldon watched, silently standing beside her, his head tilted slightly to the side. He wasn't just watching, he was studying; and it was quite the thing to watch his big brain work.

It wasn't until they stopped in front of a habitat labeled 'Mangabey' that he began to show signs of himself again.

"Were you aware, Penny, that the word Mangabey can actually refer to three species of old world primates. Lochocebus, Cercocebus, and Rungwecebus. It was thought at one time that Lophocebus and Cercocebus were so closely related that they were in the same genus, but it is now to be understood that Lophocebus is actually more relatable to the baboons in the genus Papio, as Cercocebus is closer related to the Mandrill. The Rungwecebus, on the other hand was only discovered more recently."

Penny smiled softly, welcoming in his fact rant. She might as well; she wouldn't get to hear them very often after this week. "No, Sheldon, I didn't. That's pretty neat."

Sheldon returned her smile, bright blue eyes beaming down at her. "Indeed, it is interesting isn't it?"

His ramblings continued on when they wandered past the Masihara Pavilion and into the Chimpanzee area. He leaned against the wall and watched them interact from behind the glass, a mother was coddling her baby as onlookers snapped picture after picture. Sheldon paid them no mind; he simply lowered his head close to Penny's ear and spoke softly.

"The Chimp is in the genus Pan, which is considered to be a part of the subfamily Homininae, the same subfamily that we humans also belong. Both of these species are the closest living evolutionary relatives to us, as they shared a common ancestor with humans around four to six million years ago. They're genetic makeup is ninety nine percent the same as ours. They, Penny, are what we were….more or less." Sheldon sighed contently. "Bless you, Charles Darwin."

"Sheldon Lee Cooper, I'm gonna' tell your momma what you just said," Penny snickered, pushing back into him with her shoulders.

He feigned a gasp, "You wouldn't dare!" the corner of his mouth cocking upward.

She was still resting slightly against him, shocked that he hadn't pulled away at the contact(it must have been the monkey high), and then something that shocked her even more still was a slight pressure of something pointy resting lightly atop of her head. Something that could have been nothing other than his chin.

"Thank you for this, Penny." His voice was soft and sweet, his chin wobbling slightly in her hair as he spoke. His hands came up and patted her upper arms twice before he stepped away and walked out of the enclosure.

"Ready?" Junior asked with a jerk of the head. "Momma is sure to be back soon enough and we best beat her to it."

Sheldon nodded with a bittersweet smile playing on his face. He almost regretted accepting the opportunity to go to Austin, but he knew it would only better him in the long run. What was here for him? A family that undoubtedly loved him but was holding him back…and Penny. What was Penny? The only person that accepted him for who he was besides MeeMaw and PopPop, and she had weaseled her way into his life without even asking.

College was going to 'suck the big one', as she would say. But it was going to suck even more without her there to help him through it.

* * *

.

**A/N: Annnddd here it is, your Sheldon Lee Cooper apocalyptic update! We all still alive? Good! I'd hate to loose you guys, seeing as you're all so wonderfully amazing. Two small notes: I hope I didn't offend with the 'biblethumpin' term, I adore Mary Cooper, but we all know how Sheldon and his family views her. And the other: I for one am not sure on my stand point on evolution but we all know Sheldon's so yea...no flames please, although judging by the Shenny love here I doubt any of you would. I really wanted to squeeze in the goodbye...but I figured that deserved a chapter all on its own. So if we're all still here in a few days you'll get to see how that plays out :D Also I noticed a lot of people make George Jr. out to follow in his drunken fathers footsteps...is that really stated anywhere. I don't remember it ever coming up. Anyway I really don't want to go that route. I have plans for my Junior. I hope you all enjoyed our fluffy romp at the Zoo. Don't forget to drop a few lines of love in that pretty little box down there before you head on out. I'll be eternally grateful!**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Farewell Osculation**

Penny blinked, her eyes dry and scratchy from not getting any sleep the night before. Sheldon was leaving today (this afternoon) by train of course, he wouldn't have it any other way. She sighed and managed to change out of her pajamas and pull on a pair of Jeans and a simple tank top before wandering down stairs to eat whatever breakfast her father was already making in a feeble attempt to cheer her up.

Blueberry pancakes. Of course it was blueberry pancakes. He had even gone through the trouble of adding the blueberries after he poured the batter into the pan so they formed little smiley faces. Wyatt set a plate in front of her and doused it with syrup, offering her up a sullen smile and a hair ruffle.

"Cheer up, Slugger; he'll be back for spring break right? Holidays?"

Penny blew out a breath thinking back to the inevitable conversation that she had finally forced out of Sheldon the day before down by the creek.

"_Why can't you just find a school here, Sheldon? There are colleges closer to home then UT." She threw a rock into the water and he drew his legs back quickly to avoid any sort of splash. _

"_Be that as it may, Penny, The University of Texas has a renowned science department, far more advanced than anything here in Galveston could provide me with." His eyes were downcast and his lip was tucked securely between his teeth when he wasn't speaking. Sheldon had known that eventually she would bring up the topic and he wouldn't be able to refuse answering her; this was that day._

"_Are you at least going to come back and visit? You know on breaks and stuff?"_

_Sheldon closed his eyes and sighed. "I suppose I shall, in the spring perhaps, I would like to see your grandmother again."_

_Penny smiled through glistening green eyes._

"_I'm undecided about the holidays however. I do dislike them so," he continued softly._

"_You-you're not coming home for Thanksgiving…or Christmas? Sheldon you have to be here for Christmas! If you don't come home for Christmas that means I won't see you until spring break. That's almost April Sheldon! That's over nine months!" she all but screeched._

"_Penny, you lived without my presence for nine years, surely you can live without me for nine months," he huffed with an eye roll._

"_That doesn't mean I want to!"_

"_Penny, please, you're acting so, so…juvenile."_

_She snorted. "Well I am you know. I'm sorry that my little brain hasn't caught up to your all and powerful one. I'm sorry that trapped inside your eleven your old body is an eighty year old man and I'm still a ten year old girl! But at least I know who my friends are, and I'd give the world for them!"_

_Sheldon crossed his arms over his body and shook his head at her. "Don't be preposterous, Penelope, you can't possibly give the world to anyone. You can give them a globe perhaps, symbolizing your setimen-"_

"_God!" Penny tugged at her hair and let out a frustrated groan, pushing herself onto her feet and started to stomp away._

"_Where are you going?!" he shouted after her._

"_HOME!" She shot him a glare over her shoulder and when she turned back the toe of her shoe caught a wet spot on a rock and she slipped, scraping her elbow on her decent._

"_Lord, Penny," he sighed and skillfully hopped over the gaps of dry spots over to her, swooping down to help her up._

_She swatted his arms away, blinking back the stinging behind her eyes. "Just let me be, Sheldon. Go off to your stupid big shot school and make new friends!" _

_His body went stiff and he took a tentative step away from her, linking his fingers behind his back, attempting to avoid looking at the blood that was running down her arm._

"_Very well," he nodded with a heavy swallow. _

_Her words had stung him, she knew that, but she had been angry and Penny often said stupid things when she was angry. Only this time she had taken it too far. She got to her feet, carefully this time, and had cried all the way home._

"I don't think he's coming home until spring break," she answered her father with a shudder in her breath, pushing her plate away. "I'm not hungry. Thank you though."

"Sweetheart, that's an awfully long time," Wyatt replied apologetically.

"I know."

Penny scooted off her stool and flopped down on the couch, clicking on the TV, mindlessly flipping through the channels as her family bustled around her. Nobody bothered to attempt to lift her spirits; they knew it was pretty much pointless when she was in a funk and to just let her ride it out. Or at least that is how they normally proceeded to do such things.

A loud banging on the front door pulled her from her television daze and she glanced wearily as her father opened it to a bouncing George Jr.

"Where's Penny?" he demanded frantically.

"Watching TV," Wyatt answered slowly. "Why?"

"We have to go,_ now_!" I woke up and momma and Shelly were already gone, I guess they changed boarding times or somethin'. I heard him goin' on about not wantin' to make a big deal out of nothin'."

Penny shot up off the couch and rushed out the door, dragging Junior along with her to her dad's truck. "Well, get a move on it dad!"

Wyatt blinked. "Let me just…find my keys."

* * *

Penny hopped up in the middle seat and Junior beside her; she turned her head when she felt the stinging of tears behind her eyes.

"You two had a falling out yesterday didn't 'cha?" he asked quietly.

Penny sniffed and nodded her head. "I told him to make new friends, Junior! What if…what if he thinks I meant it, what if he thinks I don't like him anymore." She hung her head in her hands and sobbed.

Junior let a hand hover over her upper back before deciding to let it fall and rub small circles into her shirt. "There, there, little Miss, we'll find him and set it straight."

* * *

The short ride to the station was quiet. Penny kept dozing off, her head lulling between the two guys in the truck. She would wake with a jerk and go to the other one once her head made contact with a shoulder. Junior had dated a girl who's mom worked the ticket booth and had explained their predicament, luckily for them she was a woman with a kind heart and showed them where they needed to go, but the train for Austin was set to leave in a little under fifteen minutes. They rushed through the station until they reached the desired platform, the three of them scanning the crowd for either Mary or Sheldon and his giant ego.

"You think he's already boarded?" Wyatt asked as he looked around the bend.

"I don't know," Junior replied, "Shelly's fussy about goodbyes but momma…well momma would tie a leash to him if she could."

Penny was getting worried, it wasn't looking good; they had less than ten minutes and still no sign of them. She clawed at her father's arm mindlessly and he gently patted her shoulder.

"That blasted woman is going to cause me to miss my departure mother!" Penny heard a whine from somewhere behind her.

"Now baby, Mrs. Franklin has done a lot of prayin' for you in our little group, I just couldn't very well ignore her."

"Yes, you could have."

Penny whipped her head around to see a disgruntled Sheldon carrying a small duffle bag with his mother in tow wheeling a rolling bag behind him. She aimlessly slapped at Junior's middle and gave a shaky point to the couple ahead of her. Junior smirked.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper you stop this instant!" he bellowed across the station. Both Sheldon and Mary stopped in their steps, their eyes widening at the sight of the elder Cooper brother standing in the middle of the Train station.

"George? Heavens what on earth are you doing here? How did you get here?!" she exclaimed rushing to her son. Junior nodded across to Wyatt, whom Mary shot an appreciative smile. "But never mind me, momma."

* * *

Penny stepped up beside him and into Sheldon's view, her eyes were red and…oh lord…she had been crying, once again he had been the cause of her tears. This is why he didn't like good byes. _Curse you Mrs. Franklin._ He watched as Junior gently nudged her forward and she took a tentative step toward him, smiling nervously as green eyes finally greeted blue. Sheldon smiled back, shoot, as much as he hated to admit it he was glad that his brother had sought her out and gotten her to the station. Penny's lips broke into a full on grin and her feet broke into a run. He had expected that, part of him wanted that (albeit it was only a small part) and he dropped his duffel in anticipation. Her body collided with his as she leaped up and linked her arms around his neck, dangling there freely for only a moment before he found himself wrapping his arms around her. Whether or not it was to keep her from choking him or to revel in her embrace he didn't know, and he didn't dare to venture into his conscious mind to discover the answer. Getting on the train was going to be hard enough.

He held her tightly and briefly breathed in the scent of her green apple scented shampoo as she clung to him. "Penny," he whispered.

"Don't go, MoonPie, who'll protect you if you go?"

He had noticed she was sniffling into his neck and he gently set her back down, untangling her arms from him.

"I don't need protection, Penelope." He smiled down at her softly.

"What if I simply don't want you to?"

Sheldon sighed, licking his lips and letting his eyes close for a moment. "Penny, I-"

The train whistle blew signaling that they were almost out of time and he gave a panicked look to the boarding car.

"Penny, I have to go. But I need you to listen okay?"

She nodded as a tear slipped down her cheek.

Sheldon copied her actions and let out a shaky breath. "All right. While I'm still not sure why it is I upset you so, I do know that it bothered me that I did. Please don't be upset with me, Penny. I'll attempt to visit and when I cannot I will find other ways of communication. You have become a constant thing in my everyday life, and in some form or another I'd very much like to keep you in that regard."

"Sheldon, honey, we have to get you on that train, baby," his mother coaxed from behind Penny.

"You'll write?" Penny asked through her tears.

Sheldon nodded.

"And you'll visit?"

He nodded again, "Promise." He reached down and unzipped his duffel and pulled out a little white pear blossom from the tree in the backyard. He had hoped to bring it along as a reminder, but this had seemed more appropriate. It had become the ultimate sign in their truce making and now he was using it to tell her goodbye. His own eyes became blurred as he reached out and placed the flower behind her ear as he had so many times before, and he instantly wished he had picked the tree bare. It was Sheldon who pulled her into him this time, crushing her to his small chest, not caring that her tears were soaking into the front of his Green Lantern shirt.

The train gave its final warning whistle and Sheldon reluctantly let go, staring down into her reddened eyes with regret and sorrow.

_It'll better my future, it'll better my future,_ he kept repeating in his head as he looked at the one thing he didn't want to lose. Penny pushed up on tiptoe and quickly brushed her lips across his cheek. His breath hitched and his eyes widened…and something inside of him started to race.

"I'm sorry Sheldon…it's just…we'll I don't want some stupid boy to be my first kiss, even if it is a goodbye one," she blushed shyly.

"But…you kissed me," he squeaked.

"I'm sorry," she replied quickly, biting her lip and turning away. "You best go, I'll be waiting for a letter she put on a forced smile and took a step towards Junior and her father.

"Penny, wait!" he yelled, inhaling sharply when she spun back around.

He closed the gap within two steps and scanned her eyes momentarily before taking a breath, bending down and pressing his own kiss on her tear stained cheek. "There," he breathed. "Now you can tell those Neanderthals that you have been osculated by one of the future greatest minds of this century."

Penny looked taken aback, happy, and confused all at the same time. "Oscu-what?"

"I kissed you, Penelope."

Penny batted the tears away from her eyes so they wouln't dare wash his mark away from her face.

"Indeed you did, MoonPie," her voice dropped to a whisper so only he could hear. "I'll miss you."

Sheldon nodded in agreement, reaching out and patting her on the arm a few times before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the red Penny Blossom she had given him for Christmas. He clipped it to his bag and secured the strap over his shoulder. "Goodbye, Penny."

"Bye, Sheldon," she managed to get out with a crack in her voice.

He nodded and brushed his own tears out of his eyes turning to his mother and giving her a halfhearted hug and getting a pat on the back from his brother before they ushered him onto the train car.

* * *

She watched as he took his seat near the window and kept his big wet eyes on hers the whole time, not bothering to wipe the tears away now. Not until they reached the bottom of his face anyway. The whistle gave its departing blow and the brake _whooshed _its release and she saw his breath visually stop. He didn't have on his train smile, there was no smile at all gracing the face of Sheldon Cooper, not on this train ride.

Penny took a few steps as the train rolled forward and her heart stopped when his hand came up and pressed against the window, his upper lip quivering as it sucked in his lower one. She wanted to run after it and jump on board. She could move to Austin right? How bad could it be? Her feet moved on their own accord but before she could get too far she was being scooped up into the arms of George Cooper Jr., stopping her before she got out of the sight of her father. She let out a few choking sobs before crumpling into his arms and letting it all out as he carried her back to the platform where they all originally stood.

"Shhh, there, there, darlin' you'll hear from him soon enough," he cooed into her ear, patting her back softly. He passed her along to Wyatt once he got her to let go and went over to give Mary a comforting hug of her own. "She's takin' it worse than you," Junior laughed, handing his mother a tissue.

"Poor little thing. Who'd ever thought my strange little Shelly would find such a grand little creature and ending up becoming friends with her," Mary sniffed and patted her eyes.

"That girl is a somethin' else, momma, and I don't think Sheldon had any clue the whirl-wind she would bring when she sat down at that lunch table."

* * *

Penny didn't speak a word to her father on the way back to the house. She silently trudged back up the stairs and shut herself in her room, throwing herself down onto the bed and quickly shutting the shade. She didn't want to even look at the Cooper house right now, knowing that he wasn't up in his room building some sort of death ray. She plucked the flower from her hair and twirled the stem in her finger, bringing it to her nose and inhaling the fruity scent.

_"They grow on the tree in the backyard, MeeMaw says it's called a pear blossom…that they are a symbol of friendship," he added quietly. "Are you still my friend, Penny? I'd hate to lose my only one after such a short time._

The memory echoed in the back of her mind and she forced out something between a cry and a laugh. How long would it be before she would be presented with another? Far too long in her opinion. She reached down and fumbled under the bed until she found a shoe box and opened the lid. There was a letter on top of all the dried blossoms of the past. Why was there a letter? She unfolded it and instantly her eyes began to water again.

_Hello Penelope,_

_Honestly, a shoebox full of memorabilia under your bed, how cliché, but I digress. I know you were upset with me earlier today which is why I had your brother, Thomas place this letter here while you had your evening shower. Assuming he has kept himself out of trouble this evening. I'm not one for goodbyes, Penny, so this is mine. I would like you to know that I truly value the friendship that you and I have built; it has made for some of the most exciting times in my young life. I feel as if I need to explain why I have to go to Austin to further my education, but you know how much my science means to me and my dreams of pursuing a career in physics one day; so why do I still feel a hindrance on going? It's not normal for me to feel so off putting about something that will only better me in the future, yet when I saw how upset you were it hardly mattered. I nearly wanted to throw it all away. So I must go, Penny, for both of us. I will miss your company dearly, but I have lost track of what I have dreamed of since I was just out of diapers. I repeat your words to me in saying to make new friends, but I know you will have no problem doing so without me weighing you down. You'll need them with middle school coming up for you._

"I don't, Sheldon, I only needed you," she whispered to the paper.

_I'm sure I'll go back to eating alone, hallucinating that a girl with bouncy blonde hair is crossing the cafeteria is coming to join me, and that will be enough for me, at least it will be until I visit. And I will visit, Penny. I told you I would, and Sheldon Lee Cooper never breaks his promise. _

_Sincerely yours (I only do this for your amusement and the promise that this letter remains in this box!),_

_MoonPie_

"Oh, MoonPie," she clutched the letter to her chest and fell back onto the bed, "You best come home soon."

* * *

.

**A/N: Soooo, who hates me?! Or maybe you love me. Maybe prepubescent heartbreak is your thing. Who am I to judge? Well it's 4pm on apocalypse day and I'm still here, so...yeah...THANK YOU JELLO! But in all seriousness I hope you all made it through this with a tissue or two and perhaps a smile as well. I'll keep it relatively short in saying thank you for keeping the love strong and bless you you non Shenny readers that I have brought on over. You guys are amazing...every single one of you. Take care of each other and if I don't get back before Christmas have a Merry one (or whatever Holiday you may celebrate). Now leave Shelly some love!**


	8. Chapter 8

**The First Communication Exchange**

Sheldon was right, college was just plain awful. His classes were decent enough; once they found a class he didn't roll his eyes at, and most of his professors were tolerable but the students did nothing but stare and mutter about the 'little big shot' under their breath as he walked by. He got the typical shoulder bumps in the halls, a trip or two on the walkways outside (resulting in more than one scraped knee) and of course more than his fair share of nuggies and swirlies. You would think students nearing adulthood would leave someone who was not even a teenager alone and they probably would have if he hadn't swooped in like the prodigy he was and gained all the attention of the faculty. While all that was bad enough it didn't hold a flame to what was really upsetting him most days; in college there was no Penny.

* * *

His mother had been kind enough to sneak the picture from Moody Gardens in his luggage, carefully stuck between the sheets of one of his notebooks. She knew he would have scolded her for giving him such a thing outright and he was glad that she had done it in such a private manner. He had found it while in his third week, slipping the pad from his bag to take notes. He flipped the page back to find himself staring down at a beaming Penny with her arm slung around his neck and himself awkward leaning down towards her, eyes rolled upward and somehow he still managed to pull off a genuine smile.

Sheldon's lips twitched as his fingers lightly traced the edges of the photograph, tuning out everything around him.

"What 'cha got there, Baby Brain? Picture of your girlfriend?" Larry, the boy who sat behind him hissed in his ear.

Sheldon's fingers clenched in the fabric of his chinos. "If you must know, it is a photograph my mother hid in my notebook from my winter break."

"Yeah…of you…and your girlfriend," Larry quipped.

Sheldon could feel the heat rising in his cheeks and he quickly flipped the book shut, pursing his lips and staring out straight ahead. He didn't need to take notes anyway. It was for show.

"Who'd a thunk it," Larry jeered, "smarts and a girl to go back to. Do you tell her how you spend your afternoons with your head in the toilet? I bet she's already replaced you."

Sheldon shoved his chair away and stood to face him, his fists balled up at his sides and his face deep red. "Penny is a girl who is my friend, my best friend even, not my girlfriend! And I hope she makes new friends because I'd hate for her to feel as terrible as I do in this wretched place with you imbeciles!"

"Is there a problem Mr. Cooper?" A stern female voice rang out through the class.

"N-n-no, Professor Clements," Sheldon stammered out, turning around and slumping back down into his seat.

"Then let us continue," she said with a soft smile and a slight nod. "Perhaps without any interruptions this time."

Sheldon heard the chair behind him creak and felt a hot breath on the back of his neck. His fingers clenched in his lap and he felt his lips twitch uncontrollably but he kept quiet.

"Maybe the next time you're sulking with a mop of wet toilet head or lying across the ground I'll snap my own picture to send to your girl, you know, so she can see how college life is treating you. She won't wait for you, Baby Brain, get used to that now, you're destined to be alone."

* * *

Sheldon couldn't get 'home' quick enough. His mother had arranged for him to stay with his Aunt Clara while he was away as he was too young to stay at the dorms. He was glad for her promptness; she was never late in picking him up and hardly ever tried to induce banal chit chat on the drive back to the house. He shut himself up in his room and curled up on the bed, his knees pulled tightly to his chest. Of course he didn't want Penny to 'wait for him', did he? He certainly wanted her to be there when he returned and when he graduated, but would she? _She must be there_ he decided, the only reason he made it through his days now was because of the sparkling red flower clipped to the mirror on his dresser. He fumbled in his bag and pulled the picture out from his notebook, sliding it beneath the clip and securing it in place. He allowed himself a small smile before reaching back into his bag and grabbing a pen.

_Salutations Penelope!_

_I trust by now you have read the classic children's novel Charlotte's Web, but just in I will enclose a copy of it for you with this letter. Now to paraphrase the spider, Charlotte, of said book Salutations is a fancy way of saying hello…but if you have already read the book than you already knew that. You see, Penny sometimes I see myself as Charlotte (only human of course). Keeping to herself up in the corner of the barn entryway, friendless. But then you came along and were my Wilbur so to speak (without the danger of being sent to slaughter and also human), taking a chance with me. And so developed a friendship I never thought I would ever be capable of having. Most of all, Penny, Charlotte was loyal until the very end and did everything in her power to keep her promise to Wilbur, as I will always keep my promises to you. _

_As predicted I eat alone, but I find I don't mind so much. Everyone leaves me be and for one blessed period a day I have time to myself where I am not ridiculed by those around me. _

This much was true, nobody dared pick on him during the lunch period, he didn't know why it was just the way things were.

_I hope by now you have made yourself a few new friends; it is a shame that Missy is now in Middle school or you could have sat with her during lunch, but I'm sure you have a new grouping you sit with. Who wouldn't want to sit with you? Well I didn't at first, but I admit it would have been a shame if you would have taken my advice and left the table that day. To think you would have never learned about chimpanzees and evolution. The shame of it! _

_The weather is slowly changing as November approaches and that god awful holiday season with it. Yes, I do believe I will be returning to Galveston for Thanksgiving, as much as I dislike family gatherings, I am not looking forward to the collegiate activities they have prepared for that weekend. Besides it would be nice to see a friendly face. _

_I sincerely hope to hear back from you soon, Penny, but please don't put off school for a petty letter. A reply to me can certainly wait until after homework is finished._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Sheldon Lee Cooper_

_(And if you must, MoonPie)_

* * *

_._

School just plain sucked without either Sheldon or Missy around all day. Penny had never really been a quiet girl, but being around Sheldon had changed that. She spent the first few weeks of school sitting alone at their old table, in his spot, silently eating her lunch until the bell rang. Eventually she made small talk with a few girls in her drama class and one, Jill, started to eat lunch with her. One at a time she slowly had a small group of girls at their old table. Penny always sat in the spot he had formerly claimed as his, getting some sort of odd calm just knowing he was once there. The girls knew it was her seat, they didn't question it, it was her only quirk and it was only at lunch time so they let it go.

* * *

Junior had finally gotten his license and would pick her up after school and take her for pizza on Thursday afternoons; it had become their thing. They would laugh and talk about the things they thought Sheldon was up to (most likely tormenting his professors). Junior told her that Sheldon called home weekly but he only ever talked to either his mom or MeeMaw; and never about specifics. He always told them that things were well, his grades were superb as to be expected and that he should have no problem achieving a doctorate in the near future.

"Can you imagine," Junior laughed, "my baby brother with a fancy title in front of his name!"

"And you know Sheldon, he'll be correcting people -'that's Doctor Cooper'- for the rest of his days," Penny giggled. She sighed and solemnly stirred the ice in her cup with her straw. "You think they give him a hard time in school? The students I mean?"

Junior frowned, "If they do, Penn, he doesn't mention it…and knowing Shelly he wouldn't." He reached across the table and gave her hand a pat. "Let's get you home before your pop starts to worry."

Penny rolled her eyes, "Dad knows where I am, Georgie. I hardly see Missy anymore; this is one of the few things I have to look forward too."

"Would you cut it out with that Georgie nonsense already," he scowled.

"Oh please, Sheldon can't get me to stop calling him MoonPie, you think you can get me to stop calling you Georgie? Junior… honestly." Penny shook her head and sucked her teeth.

"Yeah, well not even MeeMaw gets to call me that."

"But I do," Penny grinned, flicking the balled up paper from her straw in his direction before she got up from the table and headed out to his truck.

* * *

She was thrilled when her father told her she had received a package from Sheldon and she hardly said hello to anyone in the house before scooping the manila envelope up off the counter top and rushing up to her room.

A smile spread over her face and she breathed a laugh when the paperback book slid out onto her bed. She had read the book in school before leaving Nebraska and cried like a baby while watching the movie. But why would he send her Charlotte's Web? Sheldon didn't seem the type to be randomly carrying around Newbery Honor books in his backpack.

His letter tugged at her heartstrings and a tear dropped down and landed on the paper. He thought he was all alone and he desperately wanted her to know that he was a loyal friend even if he was far away from her. How could he think that she would think otherwise? She didn't take a chance, she took a stand. His own sister paid him no mind and they were twins; weren't twins supposed to have some sort of special bond? No Penny didn't take a chance that day she sat at his table, it was the best decision she ever made.

She quickly yanked out a pad of paper from under her pile of text books and a pen off her desk and began to write.

_My sweet MoonPie,_

_You've got it all wrong, Sheldon, don't you see that? While Charlotte might have been alone in the beginning by the end she had a barn full of friends that cared about her. Even if she was oddly beautiful. _

Penny stopped writing. Did she just somehow call him beautiful? She shook her head at the thought and continued.

_Most of all, MoonPie, Charlotte saved Wilbur just as you saved me. I was miserable when I moved here from Omaha. All of my friends were gone, my Gammy was no longer right next door, everything I had loved was taken away from me. But you made me forget all of that…well I never forgot, but you made things a lot easier. I might not have understood any of them but I loved watching you work on your crazy experiments; even that death ray thingy that drove Mrs. Jursten's dog crazy. _

_And Charlotte died at the end, Sheldon. Next time you compare our friendship to a book or a movie how about you pick one that ends on a happier note. Like Milo and Otis, at least in that unlikely friendship they both live! _

_I do have a few new friends from my drama class; one girl named Jill is really nice to me. We sit at our old table; I've claimed your spot as my own, hope you don't mind. And was that you attempting to make a joke with that evolution business? Ha! Boy oh boy, Sheldon, you really are an odd duck, or in this case, I suppose my special spider friend. _

_Holy crap on a cracker, are you really coming home for Thanksgiving! Prepare yourself now Sheldon Lee Cooper; you're getting an armful of Penny when you get back, germs and all! But not to worry, I'll keep my lips to myself this time; I wouldn't want to risk my chances of not seeing you at Christmas. _

_I've been spending a lot of time with your brother; he's been really great while you've been gone. I miss you, MoonPie. I think of you every morning, noon and night and talking with Junior makes it a little more bearable. He makes me focus on the fun times, like Moody Gardens and the Zoo, not that awful day at the train station, or when we fought by the creek. I'm sorry for that by the way; I didn't intend to be so mean to you, Sheldon. I never want to be mean to you...not unless you deserve it. _

_I do have homework to start on; I know, I know, you said to do that first but I just couldn't wait! I hope to hear from you before Thanksgiving, Junior says you call your mom…you could call here too you know. Just a thought. _

_Forever yours,_

_Penelope._

* * *

_._

Sheldon's fingers ran over the ink before he brought the paper to his nose. Oh! It even smelled like her, a faint smell of green apples and vanilla hiding behind the ink of the pen. Oddly beautiful, what had she meant by that? Was she referring to him? Sheldon scoffed at the idea. Of course not, how could someone as strange as he be any form of beautiful. Then she went and signed it 'Forever yours'. Well take that, Larry; maybe Sheldon Lee Cooper wasn't destined to be alone after all. He folded up her letter and placed it in a small wooden lock box that he hid beneath his bed and snapped it shut with a smile. Thanksgiving couldn't come quick enough.

* * *

.

.

**A/N:Well I trust everyone had a festive Saturnalia!? Yes? Yes? ... Good! I received Red Vines in my Sheldon Cooper stocking along with Soft Kitty socks and a Soft Kitty backpack and a Tron style Sheldon shirt...Santa was feeling the BBT love this year. I also got a very nice TARDIS lamp and a new camera to play with so I've been a happy girl since the 25th. Now back to the Shenny! Poor Babies! Both sad and alone :( but not for too much longer! I only skimmed this quickly, it's nearly 4am and Shelly is sleepy :o But kindly leave some love in the box below and love will be returned as always! And to my anon reviewers...you guys are awesome and I love you all. Sorry I can't respond to you individually but know that I love you all just the same :D Hohoho Happy New Year and all that jazz!**

**Shelly**


	9. Chapter 9

**The Thanksgiving Sojourn**

Sheldon refused to miss a day of class, despite how eager he was to get home and see Penny. His aunt had arranged for him to take an afternoon train back to Galveston and his brother would pick him up early Thursday morning from the Huston station. He should have just waited until the Christmas break to come and visit; but that would have obligated him to stay longer. With the train ride being a little over sixteen hours he would have to leave Sunday morning to make it back in time for school. He clipped his Penny Blossom onto his duffel bag and smoothed his hands over the front of his Green Lantern shirt. It had been four months since they had seen each other and he couldn't help but wonder if she had changed any, Her birthday was fast approaching and for a brief moment they would share a number before his rolled around; and he could already feel the subtle changes in himself (mostly height) and knew she couldn't be far behind.

"Ready, darlin'?" His aunt Clara poked her head in his door way with a smile. She never entered his bedroom, for some reason he had suddenly felt as if it was his only sanctuary and never let anyone enter. They simply couldn't.

Sheldon nodded, pulling on his jacket before slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking toward the door with a slight spring in his step. His fingers curled over the fabric petals of the flower clipped on his bag and he felt his lips twitch upward.

"I bet that friend of yours will be real excited to see ya'. That one you're always writin'" Clara smiled at him in the rearview mirror from the front seat. "What's her name again?"

"Penny," he muttered softly, "Mom invited her over for dinner but her older sister will be in town and they are having their own family gathering."

Surprisingly this saddened him, if her sister that she seldomly saw would only be here for the weekend that would shorten his time with her significantly. It also meant he wouldn't see her until at least sometime late Thursday afternoon. "It's just as well," Sheldon sighed, "I'm sure my father will be nursing a poorly disguised soda can filled with bourbon and will be in one of his moods. She doesn't need to be subjected to that."

They had stopped at a red light and she turned to look at his skinny frame pressed into the back seat. Hands folded in his lap and eyes unblinking.

"Nobody does, sweetheart," she said with a sad smile. "No one, not you kids or your poor mother."

"Then why doesn't she make him leave," Sheldon deadpanned.

The light turned but the car stayed still; there was no one around them anyhow. "Sometimes we have to live with our mistakes, darlin', after all she has you fine children to care for."

"Mom says Jesus has a plan, that everything happens for a reason and God doesn't make mistakes." He turned his head and looked out the window. "Obviously a being of such intellect would not, but he did, now didn't he, therefore he mustn't exist. If God existed he'd have left a long time ago and my mother would have traded in all this hokum for an afternoon physics lecture with her son."

His aunt only stared at him with her mouth slightly agape and the light switched back to red.

"Are we going to wait at this stop light all day, or are we going to the train station?" Sheldon turned to look at her with innocence in his eyes and a slight head tilt.

"Let's get you home," she smiled, patting his knee and ignoring the flinch that followed.

.

* * *

Penny crept down the stairs early Thursday morning, woken by the smell of bacon and coffee wafting up the stairs. She was surprised to see her older sister, Jemma standing in the kitchen scrambling eggs over a pan.

"JEMMA!" she ran the rest of the way and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Shhh, Penn, the old folks are still asleep," she laughed.

"Where's Dave?" Penny asked, glancing around for the recent guy her sister had told everyone she was going to marry.

"Dave who?" her sister winked, scraping the eggs onto a plate. "Turns out Dave was actually Steve and already had a family in another state. Boy do I know how to pick 'em." Jemma shrugged, "But enough about me, tell me about you, what's with this boy next door moms been blabbing about? I saw him leave this morning, Penny he's gotta be sixteen, that's crazy!"

Penny choked out a laugh, "God no, Jem, that's Junior, his brother. We're friends, that's all. Sheldon too, just friends. I'm not even old enough for anything like that!"

Penny loved her sister dearly, she did, but she always had an early start on things. Penny didn't know if she wanted end up like that. Her mom had had Jemma when she was young, really young, there was twelve years between them and she had spent the past five of Penny's life out living in Chicago. Up and left with her boyfriend, said she needed to get away from the slump of the farm life. She'd been engaged two times since then, and had only visited once.

"Awww, come on, Pig Penn, have you kissed him yet?" Jemma poked her with the pronged end of her fork.

Penny blushed and stared at her slippered feet.

"You have!"

"Have not."

"Have too! Look at that face," she squeaked, "Penelope Anne Widmore did you kiss that boy?" Her sister knitted her eyebrows together and secured her hands on her hips, giving her that scolded mother look.

"It was only on the cheek and only because I didn't know when he was coming back and…and…I…" Penny huffed and shuffled into the living room slumping down into the couch.

"And you like him!" Jemma grinned in a sing-song voice.

Penny sighed. "It doesn't matter. He freaks out if you touch him and he's freaky genius smart and he's in Austin now."

"So?"

"So, so?! So, I'm dumb as soup and probably never getting out of this place unless mom and dad take me somewhere else."

Her sister chuckled and ruffled the top of her messy blonde head. "It'll work out, Pig Penn; opposites attract after all."

* * *

They ate their family dinner and for once Penny was glad that it felt like old times. Even Tommy was in a good mood and they all got along. Perhaps it was because Jemma was home, everyone knew she was the favorite; she brought out the best in everyone with her free spirit. Her mother and Jemma spent after wards sipping on coffee and eating pie while gossiping about girl things while her father and Tommy sat in the living room watching the game. Penny joined them as she usually did, she enjoyed the sport, but her heart wasn't in it this year. She had yet to see Sheldon and it was the one thing she was secretly most thankful for this year, yet here she was still waiting.

The sun had begun to set and she was starting to think she wouldn't get to see him until tomorrow, and that would give them one less day together. She sighed and went to the door, plucking her coat off the rack.

"Where you going Slugger?" Wyatt casually called from his seat, not even glancing up from the screen.

"Walk," she mumbled, shoving her hands in her pockets and letting the door slam closed behind her.

"I thought he would have showed up by now," her mother said quietly, her eyes looking at her oldest over her coffee cup.

"He'll be here," Jemma smiled, "by the sound of it he'll always come here."

* * *

Penny had her hands shoved in her pockets as she shuffled through the leaves and maneuvered between the trees back towards the creek. She kicked up bits of mud with the toes of her converse as she scolded Sheldon in her mind. Penny knew that Mrs. Cooper liked to eat her holiday dinners early, MeeMaw always napped afterward and Missy usually went off to her room for the rest of the day, but Thanksgiving dinner should have only lasted a few hours at best so his father could be in front of the television in time to watch the game.

She took a seat on a boulder, ignoring the damp cold that was settling into her jeans and began to mindlessly toss rocks into the creek. The moon was full and beginning to rise through the trees and Penny couldn't help but feel bad. She should have stayed put. What if he had come looking for her after all, it was possible that he got caught up talking to his family. Even if he didn't like to talk his mother sure did and after not seeing her baby boy for so long she must have had a lot to say. She sighed and pulled her knees to her chest resting her head on her arms.

"I'm sorry, MoonPie," she whispered aloud sniffing into the sleeve of her coat.

"Whatever for, I was the one who later than expected."

Penny's head snapped up at the sound of the soft twang and scrambled to her feet. Sheldon was standing in the clearing behind her; blanket slung over one arm and his other casually behind his back. She let out a held breath and jogged over to him, pausing and looking up at him. Her bottom lip between her teeth and her green eyes sparkling in a silent question only she was allowed to ask.

Sheldon's face broke out into a smile and he held out the arm the blanket was in and removed the other from behind him and awkwardly held it out to her and nodded. She wasted no time wrapping her arms around his body and burying her face into the front of his jacket. He had grown a few inches, she wished she could say the same but aside from her hair being a bit longer and wavier it was all the same. He slowly brought his arms around her back and rested his chin atop of her head. She let out a shudder when she exhaled and he pulled away from her and looked down, frowning at the tears stains on her cheeks.

"Are you…why are you crying, Penny? Are you not happy that I'm here?"

Penny grinned, "I'm crying because I am happy. Happy tears, Shelly." She removed her arms from him, sensing he was probably getting a little uncomfortable and wiped her eyes, but he held on a second longer before releasing her, bringing the blanket free arm into view; with a pear blossom in his hand. Her eyes pricked again when he placed it behind her ear in their familiar way with a shy smile.

Comfortableness be damned, she pressed up on her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek. His back straightened and if his cheeks flushed in the cold she couldn't tell but she could definitely feel the warmth radiate from his body.

"Penny, why…I thought you said you weren't going to do that!" he forced out with a twang.

"I missed you, Sheldon. I missed you a lot."

"Oh," he said simply, averting his eyes.

"It won't happen again, I promise. Unless you want it to." She turned away and walked back to her rock and he followed, unfolding the blanket for them to sit on in the leaves beside the boulders.

"Penny?" Sheldon's voice was quiet and a little unsure beside her.

"What?"

He licked his lips and took a deep breath. "I-I-missed you as well."

Penny let out a huffed laugh and nudged him with her shoulder. "You're something else, Sheldon Cooper."

"Not crazy?" he inquired when she didn't respond the way everyone else would have.

"Of course not, your mother had you tested, remember?"

He let out his usual breathy laugh and let it expand into a full one, the laugh nobody else got to hear, Penny loved it when he let go.

"Perhaps your mother should have you tested, Penny. Nobody else tolerates or even begins to understand me; yet you do both and have so easily from the beginning. How is that?"

"You're the smart one here, MoonPie; me, I'm just dumb as soup, as your momma would put it," she said matter of factly with a shrug.

Sheldon looked down at her disapprovingly. "You are no such thing, Penelope," he scolded, "while you are nowhere near my level of intellect you outshine me in so many things that I will never be able to understand. Furthermore as I stated a few moments ago you understand me, whereas my own family does not. That in itself deems you far superior than most of the people I know." Sheldon hesitantly reached out and laid a hand on her knee. "You have a wonderful mind Penny, if you applied yourself more you would do well." His eyes fluttered downward and he shook his head, "I'm sorry I am no longer here to assist you with your school work, the tutoring programs here really are awful."

Penny chuckled at his concern with the public education system, "Missy helps me sometimes and Junior, they're not as good as you, but they try. I only have one C in science and we both know that's your area not theirs."

"Tomorrow we will go over the areas you're having trouble with." He told her as if this was already set in stone.

"Nuh-uh, Shelly, we're having fun while you're here; no school mumbo jumbo!" she snapped back.

"Penny, science is fun!" he argued with a flare of the arms.

"I'll go home right now, Sheldon!"

"Fine," he grumbled under his breath; folding his arms in front of his chest and pressing his lips into a thin line.

He was silent after that, not just silent but pouting. Penny inched closer to him and when he didn't budge at all after her arm was flush against his she took a chance and rested her head on his shoulder. It got his attention, but not the type she was expecting from him.

He sighed, slowly tilting his head until his cheek came to rest on her hair.

She risked another move and linked her arm in his and squeezed gently. "Thanks for coming back, Sheldon," she spoke with a quiet murmur.

"You're very welcome, Penny."

She felt his head nudging further into her hair and his warm breath exhaling on her scalp. "I apologize I wasn't here earlier; my father was…well, he insisted I watch the football game and I had to wait until the alcohol took effect and he passed out on the sofa before I could leave. When you weren't home, Junior told me to check here, he says you come here often."

"It's okay, you're here now." She let her eyes fall closed and nuzzled into the arm of his coat to keep her face warm.

"Do you? Come here often?" He nudged her softly with the arm she had a grip on.

"I do," came her simple reply."

"Why?"

"It reminds me of you. Sometimes it makes me forget that you're so far away now."

Sheldon chuckled, a real chuckle. "I'm here now, Penny, you said so yourself; and quite close no thanks to you."

"Indeed you are, MoonPie," she laughed, giving him another squeeze.

"Penny?" his voice called out after a short pause between them.

"Hmmm?"

"Only MeeMaw calls me MoonPie," he stated flatly.

It was the first time he had corrected her of this in a good long time and she hated to admit that it stung, perhaps a little more than it should have. Her breath caught in her throat and she began to pull detach her arm from his when she was suddenly aware of his grip tightening and pulling her back.

"Bazinga," he said with a broad grin when she looked to him in annoyance.

"Ba-who?"

"It was a joke, Penny. Since people often fail to recognize my attempt at any sort of humor I've decided to let them know by my use of the term, bazinga. I find it quite catchy myself," he smiled and laughed in his typical breathy way.

Penny didn't know which to be marveled at first, the fact that he had fashioned himself a catchphrase of that he had actually given her permission to call him MoonPie. She went with the latter.

"Sheldon," she started in a whisper, "you do realize what you're saying right?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Penny, while I don't understand a lot of jokes I do know how to make one," he scoffed.

Penny squeezed her eyes shut and groaned inwardly. "No, no, no, the other thing. Can I really-," she bit her bottom lip and looked up at him shyly, "MoonPie?"

"It is a term of endearment, Penny, or at least it is when it comes from my MeeMaw and I assume you use it as such as well. Is it not?" he questioned her with an arched brow.

Penny nodded quickly.

"Then yes, you may. Only when we are alone or via letter of course." He nodded to her with a small smile and adjusted the flower behind her ear.

Penny launched herself around his neck and landed on his body emitting an "Oomph" followed by a lanky arm coming up to pat her on the back.

"Honestly, Penny, haven't you assaulted my person enough in one day!" he nearly squeaked in his light twang, she could feel his head shaking beside hers and she couldn't help but grin.

"Sorry, MoonPie, I'm a hugger. You wanna be friends with me, you gotta be friends with me and _alllllI _my germs too.

Sheldon shuddered then, "Oh dear lord, I'm going to have to start carrying around extra wipes when I come home."

Penny laughed and moved away from him, patting his leg. "Hey, it's not that late, let's go to my house and watch a movie. Your pick; I'm sure Tommy at least has Star Wars or something."

"I'd like that."

* * *

Tommy did in fact have Star Wars, all of them and Penny had to bite back smart remarks when it took him forever to decide on which one he wanted to watch. She made them some popcorn and cocoa (to his liking) and made her way back into the living room to see her sister standing there with one hand propped up on her hip.

"Well, you must be little Shelly Cooper," she grinned, "but you ain't so little are ya', bean pole?"

Sheldon blushed and stared down at the carpet. "Sheldon, Sheldon Cooper. I take it you are Penelope's older sister?"

"Penelope, huh?" she smirked, "Name's Jemma."

"Uggh, leave him alone, Jem," Penny growled, placing their mugs on the table smiling at the appreciative look Sheldon shot her from across the room. "We just want to watch our movie in peace."

Jemma shrugged, "That's fine and dandy, I just came down to get a glass of water, is all, pay me no never mind."

Sheldon finally settled on Return of the Jedi; Penny had insisted she didn't care which one she choose because her brother had already made her sit through them, so he picked the one he thought she would enjoy best. Her draw to stuffed animals and cuddly things would have her favoring the Ewoks and it he had been informed by his sister many times that the only reason she would ever sit through that spacey movie was for the love story. He assumed by this that all girls enjoyed such things, so it was only logical that Penny would as well. They drank their cocoa and snacked on popcorn and he appreciated that she had acquired a separate bowl for his portion; even if they were forced to share a blanket, at least it was a large one. By the time the movie had ended Penny was curled up with her feet dangerously close to his legs and softly snoring alongside him. He glanced down at her, unsure of the standard protocol for such a situation. He would hate to wake her; he had heard stories from her family about the horrors that could entail.

He stood slowly, hissing when the couch creaked beneath him, quickly looking back at her to make sure her breathing was still steady. It was. She was as his mother would put it after his father had one of his nights 'out cold'. He felt his lips involuntarily twitch upwards as he reached down and untangled the small flower from her hair so she wouldn't crush it between the cushions. He then pulled the blanket up around her shoulders and carried their dishes into the kitchen.

Sheldon Lee Cooper wasn't one to leave a mess after all.

He pulled on his own jacket and looked one more time at the sleeping girl on the couch with a soft smile. "Goodnight Penny," he whispered.

Penny rolled over and tightened her grip on the blanket and let out a deep breath. "Night, MoonPie," she yawned, immediately falling into a series of quiet snores.

* * *

They spent the next two days as if they hadn't missed a day apart. She told him all about how school was still as boring as ever and how she missed their lunches together.

He told her the same, leaving out the part about his new found bullies. They were a constant thing in his life and would be wherever he went. Perhaps he needed her to protect him after all, but saying such a thing would only upset her, he had learned that much during their friendship so he 'kept his hole shut'.

When it boiled down to the end Penny even let him help her with her science work. She had always planned on it anyhow, knowing that he both loved and hated attempting to teach her anything. They only ended up fighting by the end just to make up an hour later.

But he really tried not to get angry as he went over the details of the phases of the moon. They had been at it for nearly two hours and she was still having problems telling the difference between the waxing and waning phases.

"Dear lord, Penny, just try to remember that first half of the new moon refers to the waxing phases. The waxing crescent as well as the waxing gibbous." He let out a small groan and tugged at his short dark hair.

"And that gibbeo one is the one where it is not full but it is not a half either?" Penny asked with a scrunched nose.

"Gibbous, yes! Thank goodness you've remembered at least that."

"I still don't understand why a half moon is only called a quarter moon when clearly a half moon is showing clear as day in the sky," she huffed, flipping the pages in her text book.

Sheldon shook his head. "Because, Penny it is only in the quarterly phase. Simply math will tell you they fall halfway between the middle of the new moon phase."

"Simple math, blah, blah, blah," she whined under her breath, "Are we done now? You leave tomorrow and I don't want to spend all day studying."

"Are we done now?" Sheldon retorted in a high twang-less pitch. "See I can do it too, Penny," he smirked. "If you can recite the phases in order we can indeed be finished for the day."

Penny sighed and took a fleeting glance at her text book, but he snatched it up and flipped it closed with a snap.

"No peeking, Penelope," he added with a firm nod.

"Fine," she scowled. Penny closed her eyes and drew out the pictures of the moon in her mind. "Okay…so we start with the new moon and mom gets her eyebrows waxed at the beginning of the month…waxing crescent-"

Sheldon quirked his own eyebrow at her odd way of remembering but if it worked it worked and he sure as heck wished they went with that sooner. It would have saved him a whole mess of headache.

"-and then there is that stupid half quarter moon thing…the first one, followed by a waxing…oh what is that monkey you like, gibbon-"

"Honestly, Penny-" he began to interrupt with the shake of his head.

"Shut it, MoonPie, I got this! G-ibbous, waxing gibbous. The full moon comes next and then there is the waning crescent, the last quarter, and a waning…g-gib-gibous." Penny let out a sharp breath of air and locked her green eyes onto his stern blue ones. "Well?"

Sheldon looked down at her with an unchanging face and just blinked. "Say something, you big brained whack-a-doodle !" she yelled, stomping her foot onto the floor.

Sheldon's eyebrows rose up towards his hairline and he tilted his chin down. "No, need to shout, Penelope, my hearing is just fine, astounding at that." The side of his mouth turned upward into a grin and Penny secured a hand to her hip.

His grin grew wider. "And I wasn't just talking about my hearing, Penny." He turned on his heel and exited her room humming the elements song as he descended the stair case.

"Wha-what the heck? Sheldon, you get back here! What was that about?" She bolted out of her room and jogged down the stairs to reach him.

"I was only going to fetch you a congratulatory beverage, Penny. Would yoo-hoo suffice? If you do not have any, I will retrieve it from my house; my mother had purchased some in preparation for me coming home." Sheldon stood and stared at her with a head tilt and his hands clasped behind his back, in all his Sheldon-y glory.

Penny pushed out a laugh, "Yoo-hoo would be more than sufficient, MoonPie." She patted his arm and smiled as she passed him on her way down the stairwell. "But we have some; I'll get us some glasses."

Sheldon beamed with pride as he followed after her, taking a seat on a barstool in the kitchen. "Well, look at you, Penny, expanding your vocabulary."

Coming from anyone else she would have taken this as in insult, but in his own way it was an odd sort of compliment. She rolled her eyes upward and shook her head as she poured the chocolate drink.

"Yeah, well, I just so happen to be friends with some sort of genius."

"Penny, have you acquired more friends other than the ones you have mentioned in your drama class? I can't recall you previously mentioning this other…friend."

She couldn't help but chuckle at the slight scowl on his face as she passed him his glass. Sometimes she really did wonder what exactly went on in that big brain of his and if she could ever get the parts that didn't quite work right to jump into motion. But then he wouldn't be Sheldon, he'd be just like everyone else and she changed her mind; she liked him just as he was, socially quirky and all.

"I was talking about you, Sheldon. You're more than enough genius for me to handle another."

"Oh," he whispered quietly and stared down into his drink.

* * *

Junior had taken them for pizza, well, the whole Cooper clan was going to be there (minus his father), but it was Junior who drove Sheldon and Penny to meet everyone else. He felt bad enough for his younger brother and the constant badgering from his mother about how his schooling was going; she knew very well how it was going, she talked to him once a week on the phone for goodness sake. But it always boiled back down to the Penny matter, she was a silent question in Mary Cooper's ever meddling mind, one Junior had worked hard to keep silent.

"I'll drive them, momma, and that's that."

"Now, Junior, I don't see why that is necessary, we have plenty of room in the car. This is Shelly's last night here I'm sure he'll want to ride with us," Mary argued.

"And that's exactly why he won't. Christ, momma don't you get it, Sheldon didn't come home to be with us for Thanksgiving, he all but hates family dinners!"

"Language, George Jr.!" Mary scolded him with a pop to the back of the head. "Of course he didn't come home for my benefit, but that doesn't mean I can't spend the evening with baby."

Junior sighed and mussed his dark hair. "He'll be there, but I'm drivin'. He's leaving again tomorrow mornin', that's gonna tear him up inside and he ain't gonna let nobody see it. Let him have this."

Penny and Sheldon sat beside each other on one side of the booth with Junior while Mary, Missy and MeeMaw sat across from them.

It was a quiet outing, MeeMaw had asked Penny if she was excited for her birthday (which she wasn't, what was a birthday without her best friend there with her), and then told her that she would send over some birthday cookies for her to lift her spirits. Penny smiled meekly and nodded. She did like MeeMaw's cookies, she hated to admit it but they were even better than her gammy's.

Missy rambled on about middle school and all the cute boys that were chasing her around and her mother scolded her for it. All the while Penny had her face glued on the window, staring out into the empty street outside.

"I'm just havin' fun is all, momma," she whined.

"Those teenage boys are nothing but trouble, Melissa!" Mary said sternly, taking a sip of her drink. "Speaking of teenage trouble makers how's that brother of yours, Penny?"

Penny slowly turned her head, her mouth falling open before closing again.

"Momma!" Junior hissed across the table.

"Oh, I am sorry, sweetheart; I didn't mean to strike a nerve. I want you to know I got him in my prayers, darlin'." Mary reached across the table and covered Penny's hand with her own and gave it a light squeeze.

"Thank you Mrs. Cooper," she managed to get out in a voice hardly above a whisper.

The rest of the meal was finished in silence, Penny staring down at her food ninety percent of the time. Sheldon gently nudged her with his foot under the table.

Her sad green eyes met a sea of questioning blue beside her. She shrugged and offered him a forced smile and went back to picking at the pepperonis on her pizza.

* * *

When Junior pulled into the driveway Penny hopped out and walked straight past her driveway and towards the wooded area at the end of the street. Sheldon glanced at his brother and then stared at the swaying mess of blonde curls briskly moving away from them.

"Go," Junior stated, jerking his head in her direction.

"I don't know what to do," Sheldon said flatly, "it's not something I understand."

Junior scoffed and shook his head, "Just be there, Shelly. Lord knows that girl already understands the rest."

* * *

He found her sitting in their usual spot and he quietly approached her from behind. Not knowing what to say he sat down next to her (against his better judgment), fighting the urge to cringe when he felt the dampness of the cold on his pants.

"Thomas got busted stealing cigarettes a month ago," she said after a moment. "The store owner is convinced it was just kids being kids and didn't press charges, but we all knew better." Penny sighed and let out a dark laugh. "My brother is going to end up in jail before too long and my sister becomes infatuated with every guy she meets…Is that what I have to look forward to, Sheldon? My family track record isn't exactly a great one."

Sheldon slowly brought up his arm and let it hover above her before letting it fall onto her shoulder and giving it a soft pat. "I have no doubt that whatever you do, Penelope, you will be successful."

She slumped over and he felt her weight on his side as her head fell onto him and he decided to leave his own hand where it was, as it was providing her some sort of comfort.

"You think so?"

"Yes, Penny, I do."

Her arm slid around his middle and she buried her face closer into him. "Thank you, Sheldon."

"You are most welcome, Penny."

* * *

His departure at the train station was a less teary one, but she did cry. Sheldon shook his head and offered her a tissue from his pocket.

"Penny, honestly, we'll see each other soon enough."

"I know, but it still sucks," she pouted.

"Agreed." He pulled out the flower and tucked it behind her ear with a smile.

"What'll happen if that tree ever dies, Sheldon? What type of token will I get then?"

Sheldon leaned back on his heels, his eyes turning upward as he thought. Not that it took very long, he knew very much what the replacement would be, if there ever need be one. While it was something he necessarily had no interest in doing he knew she would appreciate the gesture. At least that is what he told himself. His cheeks flushed pink and he took a step forward, quickly bending slightly at the knees and pressing a quick kiss to her forehead.

"Sheldon Lee Cooper, I do believe you just violated my person!" she exclaimed with a grin. "That's not allowed."

"I believe, Penelope, it was you who said it would never happen again; I never said anything of the sort," he defended smugly, straightening up and adjusting the strap of his bag across his body.

Penny bit back a laugh and threw her arms around his middle, a combination of happy and sad tears trekking down her cheeks. "You best write soon, MoonPie."

"So fast you'll think I was the Flash himself."

Penny heard his reply vibrate in the bones of his small frame followed by a wheezy laugh. She backed away from him and tugged down the edges of his shirt, pulling out the wrinkles she had put there. She wiped away her tears and nodded to him.

"You best go."

"That would be wise." He nodded in agreement. "Have a splendid birthday, Penny; I regret that I couldn't stay to be here for it."

"No you don't," she giggled, "You hate birthday parties."

"You're right, I do," he said smugly with a tilt of the head. "Well then, goodbye, Penelope. Until we see each other again."

She hated that he didn't tell her when his next visit was going to be. She had even asked him about Christmas but he had refused to give her a straight answer. Deep down Penny knew the rest of her winter holidays would be spent without the company of her whack-a-doodle; she just hoped she would see him in the spring.

"Goodbye, Sheldon. Don't you forget about me." She gave him a smile but it didn't quite spread into her eyes.

"Penny, how could I possibly forget you? I have an-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, the super memory thingy." She rolled her eyes and turned him around towards the train and gave him a soft pat on the shoulders. "Now get, before I tear up again."

He turned back to face her, exhaling a deep sigh and giving her shoulder a soft squeeze. He nodded once before leaving her behind once more and heading back to Austin, his own mind not knowing when he would be back. It was too hard to keep leaving like this, he hated prolonged goodbyes but he knew he could never leave without her sending him off. He wiped the corner of his eyes before taking his seat and smiled at her from the window; pressing his hand against not caring that he hadn't wiped it down first (he could clean it afterwards). Penny's eyes met his and she grinned back, slowly bringing up her hand and separating her fingers into a 'V' and pulling her thumb away. She shrugged as her face slowly turned pink.

Sheldon laughed, a real laugh and full smile broke out on his face as he shook his head at the impossible girl standing in the station. Only Penny would flash him a Spock reference even if she didn't care for the series (and it wasn't for his lack of trying). He'd be back soon enough, how could he stay away?

* * *

Two days later Junior showed up at her school with his pickup and told her to 'hop in'.

"It's not Thursday, Georgie."

He groaned at the name but kept his mouth shut. "I'm aware," he smiled sweetly. "It's not for me, Penn. Sheldon had asked me to give ya' somethin'."

"Oh," she whispered, her eyes suddenly finding the pavement very interesting.

"Well, you getting' in or not?" he chuckled.

Penny nodded and slid into the passenger's side and put on her seatbelt with a click.

"Happy birthday, by the way," he cocked a smile and his baby blues glistened in the sun.

"Thanks," Penny muttered, her eyes quickly averting his. They reminded too much of her MoonPie's, and that made her stomach clench.

Junior drove them to their usual pizza place and they slid into their usual booth in the back against the window. He went and ordered and then went back out to the truck before returning with a small pink bag with white tissue sticking neatly out of the top. Junior passed the bag to Penny while rolling his eyes.

"You know, I'm his damned brother and I don't think I've ever gotten a birthday present."

Penny's eyes widened and her eyes kept bouncing between Junior and the bag, her mouth slightly agape.

"Well, go on, open her up."

Penny pulled out the tissue to expose a small Hello Kitty plush and a VHS copy of Milo and Otis. She laughed when she saw the tape, wondering if he had actually watched it or not. There was a small folded piece of paper in the bottom.

"Not quite as fast as the Flash, MoonPie, but close," she muttered under her breath.

"Hmm?" Junior arched an eyebrow in question, swooping up a slice of pizza.

"Nothing," she smiled, reaching in and retrieving her letter.

_Birthday Greetings Penelope,_

_I trust my dim witted brother has followed my instructions correctly, or else this letter is rendered moot. I suppose you can tell him hello and thank you if it pleases you to do so. _

Penny chuckled and glanced up. "Sheldon says hi, and thanks."

"Really, now?" Junior laughed in astonishment.

"More or less." Her eyes went back to his letter

_While I usually don't spend my time watching, much less enjoying children's films, Penny, I did watch the film you had suggested to me in your first letter. You were right, it did end on a much better note, and somehow I feel no matter how far we are separated we will always find a way to get back to one another. I wish I could have told you that in person, but it is much easier for me to put things on paper; perhaps because I knew such a sentiment would make you cry and I dislike seeing you cry. I do not think I will ever understand the premise of emotion, but I understand you, more than I have ever understood anyone else. _

_I've enrolled in some more advanced classes for next semester, but I still hope to find the time to write you. Maybe your parents can invest in a computer for Christmas. Email is much faster, Penny, and even if it was only a short message I'm sure I could send you something daily. _

_Please enjoy your pizza day with Junior, he has told me it was a weekly thing with the two of you and I thought it would be an appropriate place for him to give you my gift. There or the creek, but it felt funny for me to tell him to go there with you. I do wish I could have stayed, despite my disdain for parties; it would have been nice to present my gift to you in person. _

_Have a splendid birthday, Penelope. I hope to visit as soon as I possibly can._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Sheldon Cooper_

_Or as you would prefer, MoonPie._

* * *

Penny spent the night curled up on the couch, with a blanket, a cup of specifically made hot cocoa and a stuffed Hello Kitty while she watched Milo and Otis with Jemma. Naturally, they both cried at the end. Jemma, simply because she always did and Penny because she wished it had been Sheldon sitting on the other side of that couch.

She placed the movie into the box under her bed with the collection of building pear blossoms and slid her hand over the lid with a smile. Penny crawled under the covers with her hand wrapped around a small stuffed cat and her mind wrapped around a certain big brained boy genius.

.

* * *

**A/N: Sweet Holy Moses, that was long huh? Each time I felt it was at an ending point it kept going and going...so yea...here we are. Don't get used to it though, it took forever to get out. I've been a little busy and haven't got to write every day, and haven't been able to read much either :( I did enjoy tonight's episode somewhat though. The teeny amount of Shenny and I'm talking teeny. He says it was about him but we all know somewhere he cares about her and wanted her to know. And as much as I hate to say it but the Leonard cello apology was damned cute lol. Sorry guys, I am hardcore Shenny but I did crack a smile at that. And of course poor Shelly and all his sexual harassment oddity...poor baby. Also I secretly want Raj to hook up with the HR lady :D Enough about that though, back to young!Shenny and all their adorableness. Love it? Hate it? Let me know. Also I think I want to start skipping ahead, what are your thoughts on that? I hope you all had a fantastical New Years and I'll see you soon! **

**Shelly**


	10. Chapter 10

**The Scrooge Implication**

With Sheldon gone, the hoard of Christmas decorations began to pour out of the Cooper household the day after he had left Galveston. Penny had never seen Mary Cooper look so happy, beaming a million watt smile almost as bright as the lights that adorned her front yard. Junior looked a tad miserable toting around and rearranging the life size manger scene about fifty times before his mother was satisfied. They even managed to get George Sr. to steady the ladder while Junior stapled lights to the overhang.

Penny sighed from her perch on the bed inside her room. Christmas was going to suck. Suck the big one. Jemma was leaving in a week and worst of all there was going to be no MoonPie around to remind her of the true story of Saturnalia. She normally loved Christmas; but this year she would spend it relating to the Grinch rather than spreading her usual holiday cheer.

* * *

Not a festive sweater was donned nor a Santa hat or reindeer antlers placed upon her head. Nope not once, Penny refused. Her mother did manage to at least get her to wear a red shirt for some family pictures, but she hardly smiled in any of them so her efforts were moot. She just so happened to cross paths with the mailman three days before the dreaded holiday and was just about to scowl at his "Merry Christmas, little Miss Penny!" when her eyes caught the familiar neatness of his handwriting across a small square package being slipped into their box.

She pushed past him and flashed a small smile. "I-uh-you too!" she called after him, grabbing the mail and running inside.

She tossed the rest of the contents up on the kitchen island and ran straight up to her room. It was much too big to be his usual letter, but not too heavy either. Never the less he had went and sent her a gift, when she had only sent hers out yesterday. He sent her one not even knowing that he would receive one in return.

Penny carefully ripped open the flap and a small red velour bag spilled out into her hands and an envelope fluttered down onto the bed. She pulled the drawstring and pulled out what appeared to be a thick piece of some sort of plastic. Of course knowing Sheldon it had to have been much more scienc-y than that because inside said plastic casing was a single pear blossom, perfectly intact and perfectly beautiful. She ran her fingers over the smooth casing and felt her lips twitch up and spread out into a broad grin.

Penny slid open the envelope and pulled out his letter.

_Saturnalia greetings, Penelope!_

_I am sorry that I did not return to Galveston for the Christmas holiday, I simply couldn't be forced to endure my mother's holiday hokum for two whole weeks when it could be easily avoided._

Penny felt a wave of anger ripple in her chest. "Easily avoided?! I'm here as well Sheldon!" she scolded him as if he could hear her.

_Although it would have been nice to see you and give you a refresher course on the proper history of Saturnalia, for you have undoubtedly forgotten by now._

"Gee, thanks," Penny smirked. Only Sheldon could tell her that he missed her and frowned upon her lack of knowledge in the same sentence; and only Penny wouldn't mind.

_I sincerely hope you enjoy your pear blossom, it took a substantial amount of work to keep it alive on the train ride and then while I created the solution in which to incase it in; which is a one percent solution of polyvinyl acetal resin, by the way. I won't go into the specifics with you, it would take far too long and I doubt you would comprehend it, but incased in such a way it will last forever. Frozen in time just as it is now. So Penny, if anything should ever happen to MeeMaw's tree, or I can't be there to present you with one myself, you will always have one on your person. Just in case. _

Penny's chest tightened and she wiped her thumb along the now tear slickened surface of her immortal flower that rested in her palm. He had given her a Penny blossom in his own right, no; it was much more than that.

'MeeMaw says it's called a pear blossom…that they are a symbol of friendship.'

He had given her a representation of their growing friendship, one that would never wither and die.

A beautiful part of their friendship that would stay perfect for all eternity.

She let a soft laugh escape from her lips as she wondered if he even realized what he had done. Penny wiped her eyes and went back to the remainder of his letter.

_I had the misfortune of catching my brother on the phone when I called last; he expressed that in addition to my mother that perhaps I should place a call to you on Christmas day. He also informed me that you have not been, as they say, 'the holiday spirit'. Is this because I didn't return home, Penny? I had wanted to ask Junior myself but the words wouldn't come out. Please don't be in low spirits because of me, Penelope. While I for one do not enjoy the festive activities that come along with this time of year, I am aware that you appreciate greatly. Perhaps you can get that brother of mine to take you to Moody Gardens to make you feel better; you seemed to enjoy yourself when we went last year. _

_Oh dear, now I feel as if it is my fault that you are having a glum holiday and I feel obligated to call. I'm sure Aunt Clara won't mind, she shares your enthusiasm for that jolly fat man and his pets. So until then, Penny (which I'm assuming for you will only be a few days from now), I must bid you adieu._

_Sincerely Yours,_

_Sheldon 'MoonPie' Cooper._

_._

* * *

He was anxious Christmas morning; the telephone call with his mother had lasted longer than expected. She had the need to pass the phone along to all his family members, in which he received a surprisingly festive (albeit slurred) greeting from his father and another reminder from both Junior and his MeeMaw that he should call Penny later. He had already decided that much, but what to say to her once she was on the other line. Sheldon never had a lack of words, but Penny didn't want to hear about quarks or neutrinos any other time they were together what would make this time any different? He tugged at his shirts nervously, the shirts she had sent him for Saturnalia, not Christmas (her note had said as such). Batman logo tee with long sleeved yellow under shirt to go with it; she always complained that his undershirts hardly ever matched.

His aunt Clara eyed him over the kitchen counter and raised the corner of her mouth.

"Phone's not gonna dial it's self darlin'."

Sheldon narrowed his eyes at her and drained the rest of his cocoa. "What do I say?" he asked meekly.

"Well, hello would be a good start, followed by a merry Christmas perhaps."

"I'm not particularly fond of Christmas greetings, Penny knows this," Sheldon grumbled.

"Then wish her a happy Saturn-whatever thingy you are always goin' on about," his aunt shrugged.

"Saturnalia," he muttered.

"Whatever," she quipped, "Just dial already. And don't you worry about me; I'm goin' to sit in the tub."

Sheldon cringed at the thought of sitting in a vat of water of one's own filth, but he found the strength to nod just before she walked away. He plucked up the telephone and punched in her number, carrying the cordless handset into the sanctity of his bedroom.

* * *

He bounced his legs in his desk chair as the line on the other end rang and rang. Sheldon squeezed his eyes shut waiting for the line to give the no answer signal when he heard an out of breath female finally pick up.

"Hello?"

"H-h-hello, this is Sheldon Cooper. May I speak to P-Penny please?" he managed to get out with a breath at the end.

The woman on the other line chuckled, "Well hello there, Shelly! How are you, sweetie?"

"I'm well, thank you. How about yourself, Mrs. Widmore?"

"Just great, hun. You hold on a second I'll run the phone up to her."

"Thank you," he mustered in a quiet voice, his feet still bouncing against the floor. He heard her mother knock on Penny's door and something inside of him went horribly tight when he heard her voice call back. He rubbed a hand over the logo on his shirt and licked his lips, wondering why he was feeling such discomfort over something as trivial as a phone call.

"H-hello?" her small voice came over the receiver and he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. Penny would have called it his train smile had she have actually been there.

"Hello, Penelope," he breathed.

"Sheldon?" her voice went up an octave higher and he heard her phone clamor to the floor before she returned. "Oh, my god, you actually called! Hi, um, how was your Saturnalia? Did you like the shirts I sent you? Junior took me to the mall, I hope they fit because you had gotten taller and I didn't want them to be too short. OH! I passed my science test, I never told you that, I remembered all the moon phases, and the order they went in and Junior took me to this arcade to celebrate-"

Sheldon laughed, here he was worried of what to say and she seemed like she could fill a land fill with all the words spilling out of her mouth.

"Yes, Penny, I enjoyed your gifts, I'm wearing them now." His cheeks suddenly felt a tad warm.

"Y-you are?"

"Well, yes. I knew I would be talking to you and somehow it just felt appropriate. And I am proud that you passed your test, Penny. I told you that you could do it."

The line went quiet for a minute and they simply listened to each other breathe.

"Thank you for the pear blossom, Sheldon, its perfect," she said quietly.

"Of course it is, and it shall remain as such. That was the point after all, the perfect reminder of our friendship paradigm contained in such a way that it will never perish." Sheldon paused, sucking in his bottom lip as he swallowed.

"Sheldon?"

"Penelope?"

"I-do-don't think our friendship will perish either, even if it's not able to be incased in polyvinyl acetal resin."

Sheldon's insides did that clenching thing again and he beamed at the way she remembered the solution he had used for her flower. He sighed contently.

"I'm glad you think that."

"I don't think it, MoonPie, I know it. Just like I know you and that big brain of yours are going to do great things one day."

.

* * *

**A/N:I totally meant for Christmas to only be _briefly mentioned_...and then it took on a life of it's own. So yeah, you get a whole chapter. But who am I kidding? It's not like you're going to complain :D I'll start the skipping soon, most of you seem okay with taking it a year at at time, perhaps by summers or something. Anyone found other good young!Shenny out there? I'd like to see more! I really wish I could reply to my guest reviewers, you guys are amazing. There is literally a ton of really great stuff on here so to put me on par with that makes me all fuzzy inside. Especially with it being my first BBT fic and it being soo far out of my comfort zone. And for the one who pleaded for me not to quit, I usually don't, I tend to disappear for a while (hasn't happened with this yet, but I haven't updated my Holmes fic in almost a year but intend fully on finishing it) so if I drop of the face of the earth don't be afraid to shoot me a message. I always reply I just get stuck in ruts and my muse has a million different moods. I'll stop rambling now. Let me know your thoughts, concerns, feelings, just leave something behind before you go! see ya soon!**

**Shelly**


	11. Chapter 11

**The Snowball Occurrence**

Texan summers were in a word miserable. Even inside with the air conditioner blowing, a room could warm right up if someone were to enter the front door. If Penny hadn't been excited for Sheldon coming home she would have almost considered visiting her Gammy in Omaha.

Almost.

But that was three days ago, she knew he was home by now; shoot, she had seen Junior leave to go pick him up, or at least that's where he said he was going. Unfortunately Penny wasn't home when they got back and she still hadn't seen him. In fact she hadn't seen much the Cooper clan at all the past few days, not even through her bedroom window.

_Maybe they're all hiding from this heat_ she thought to herself, scowling at the house beside hers.

Penny's eyes caught the incased flower on her dresser and she decided she had waited long enough. She was going over there and finding out exactly why that whack-a-doodle of a boy was avoiding her. She pulled up her blonde waves into a ponytail and purposefully marched over to his front door.

* * *

"Why hello there, sweet PennyBlossom," MeeMaw opened the door with a smile and swept her up into a hug. "How are you darlin'? How's Thomas?"

"Oh, you know, trying to stay cool. Tommy is…well, he's got plenty of time to watch TV I suppose," Penny said with a disappointing shrug. Tommy started off his summer with a bang. Or more literally a shatter when a group of his buddies and himself decided to do a little joyriding and took out the driver's side window in the process. He was still under age and therefore now under house arrest.

MeeMaw gave her a comforting pat to the shoulder, "He'll come around, sugar."

"Yeah," Penny drew out. "So did Sheldon make it home? I haven't seen him and I was just…curious."

The older woman's face lit up and her blue eyes began to twinkle as she pushed Penny through the house until they were in the kitchen facing a glass door. "I told my MoonPie he should at least get over there and say hello to you, but he's been cooped up in that god awful garden shed."

"Garden shed? It's a gazillion degrees outside!" Penny scrunched up her face and looked out at the little tin roof building that stood in the back yard.

"Sugar, this is Sheldon we're talkin' about; I'm sure he's more than comfortable," she said with raised silver tinted eyebrows. "Now, go on." She slid the door open and gave Penny a series of gentle pats on the door until she was out and quickly shut the door behind her.

* * *

Penny cautiously approached the shed and listened to the clanging that was going on inside. She brought up her hand and knocked three times before slowly opening the door.

"Sheldon?" she called out, stepping inside, her mouth dropping open as she moved forward. Garden shed on the outside, mini lab on the inside. Hiding in plain sight, like the TARDIS…where the hell did that come from?

Penny laughed as she glanced around; of course Sheldon would have converted his mother's shed into his own little laboratory, complete with bright lights and a colder cooling system than both their homes. She almost wanted to put on a sweater.

In the middle of the room was a decent sized ring with a table lined up underneath it and Sheldon stood, leaned over it attaching various wires and mumbling as he went along. The machine beeped and the table began to slide forward and backward and he grinned before the word "Facinating" came from his lips.

"Sheldon?" she tried again, a little louder this time, she knocked on the side of the wall. "Hey, Sheldon?"

He jumped with a trill shriek and bumped his head on the edge of the ring and nearly ended up on the floor. "Good Lord, Penny, you frightened me!" He placed his hand over his chest and began a series of deep even breaths.

"Nice to see you too, MoonPie," she droned with an eye roll.

He stood with his hand still on his chest and let his eyes wander over her. She had grown a few inches in the seven months they had been apart, her golden hair now spilled out well below her shoulders even if it was pulled back. He was sad she wasn't there to celebrate his birthday last month, but she had sent him an envelope filled with comics, old and new and her usual t-shirt that had now seemed to be turning into a combo including a matching undershirt. She had also called him, and he was sure her parents grounded her with the amount of time they spent talking into the night. Austin wasn't that far away but it was still considered long distance.

His mouth spread into a welcoming smile. "Hello, Penelope," he said softly.

Sheldon crossed the room with his hands clasped behind his back and came to stand almost toe to toe in front of her, gazing down into her large emerald eyes. Penny beamed and quickly latched her arms around his middle and sighed into his shirt.

"Hello, Sheldon."

He rested his chin alongside her head and inhaled the sweet scent of green apple that he had missed so very much and brought his arms around her back.

"I waited for you," Penny whispered, "Were you ever going to show up, MoonPie?"

Sheldon pulled away and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, waving his arm along the length of the device in the center of the room. "Penny, Penny, Penny, _I was working_," he stressed. "Of course I would have come when it was complete, but the idea came to me on the train and I had to get started right away." He looked at her and cocked his head to the side while he held up a finger and stepped around her to exit the shed. He quickly returned twisting a single familiar white flower between his fingers and he raised his eyebrows as if asking permission to continue with their usual exchange.

Penny breathed out a laugh and walked over to him, straightening herself up so she was closer to his face. He tucked the flower behind her ear with a smile and then quickly turned back to his machine.

Penny wiggled up onto the table, grabbing hold the edges as it began to move back and forth, smirking as he shot her a glare for touching his things.

"So what is it?"

"It, Penny, is a CAT scanner," he said nonchalantly, going about his business as if it were no big deal to have such a thing in your garden shed.

Penny hopped off the table and stumbled backward toward the door. "I'm sorry, a CAT scanner, like those things in the hospital, Sheldon? Why on earth do you have a CAT scanner in your garden shed?!" She tripped over her the back of her pants and instead of attempting to get up she remained on the ground and kept staring at him as he worked.

"Why, I built it of course. Honestly, Penny, if you're going to ask such mundane questions and continue to disrupt me I will have to ask you to leave."

"Oh my GOD, SHELDON! I can see that you built it, but why?" she huffed in annoyance, pressing the palms of her hands into her eyes.

Sheldon's head popped up and looked at her with a tilt. "Oh…well…A CAT scan, or a computed axial tomography scan, is an imaging procedure that uses computer processed X-rays to produce tomographic images or 'slices of a specific area of the body. Now, Digital geometry processing is then used to generate a three dimensional image of the inside of an object from a large series of two dimensional X-ray images taken around a single axis of rotation." He waved his arm inside the large ring beside the table.

"Oh yeah, I see now, of course," Penny rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, a little miffed that he still hadn't noticed that she was sitting on the ground.

His bright blue eyes began to shine, "You do?!"

"Of course not, Sheldon!"

He frowned and glanced down at his feet, "Oh, right. With this I can perform my own brain scans without having to make excuses to get someone to take me to the hospital. Naturally I will have to test it first, perhaps on Missy's guinea pig that she received for Christmas." His fingers rested on his chin as he went into a state of thought, his lips pursing and his eyes rolling up towards the roof. "Hmm," he hummed to himself after a moment, his head turning down to look at Penny.

"Good lord, Penny, when did you end up on the floor?" his voice went up a little higher and got a little twangier as he stalked over to her and held out a hand.

She had made it a point not to touch the dirty ground when she fell, but was surprised that he had offered to help her at all. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the small packet of travel sized wipes and offered him one.

"Thank you," he nodded with an upturned lip.

"But why would you want to scan your brain to begin with, Shelly? You already know you're plenty smart. Probably smarter than the whole stinking state."

"A CAT scan can't measure how smart you are, Penny," Sheldon shook his head and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "And besides, with a brain like mine, who wouldn't want to get a look inside of it on a regular basis."

"I'm beginning to think I've seen plenty," Penny muttered. She didn't know quite why she said it, she usually didn't mind when he babbled on about his science-y things and was content to sit back and watch him as he worked. But she had missed him; and now when he shows the first thing he does is locks himself in the dang shed for days without even a hello.

Sheldon's shoulders stiffened and his upper lip began to twitch. He brought his hands behind his body and turned away from her.

"All righty, then I must ask you to return home, Penelope."

"Sheldon-"

His head tilted down towards the ground, "No, I must finish and I cannot do so with you distracting me. So if you please."

"But-"

"I will let you know when I have finished; hopefully it won't take all summer." His voice was cold and she noticed now that it had had begun to get deeper, only slightly but enough for her to take notice.

She took a step forward and reached up to lay a hand on his shoulder before changing her mind and using it to wipe the building tears from her eyes. She turned and walked silently out of the shed.

* * *

Sheldon had his eyes squeezed shut, fists clenched at his side and his lips pressed tightly together forcing himself to keep his back turned. He hadn't heard her leave, surely with his exquisite hearing he would have heard her leave and with Penny and her forceful ways she would have tried to initiate some sort of contact before leaving him to his devices. He couldn't just send her away, not after seven very long months, many letters and a lengthy phone call. He opened his eyes and turned on his heel and his mouth gently fell open at the sight of the emptiness behind him.

She left. She actually left. For the first time in their odd friendship Penelope Anne Widmore had willingly backed away without a fight, and Sheldon hated himself for it.

* * *

.

Two weeks went by and she still hadn't seen him, not personally anyway. She'd watch from her window and occasionally she would see him slink in and out of the shed doors. It was shaping up to be the hottest and most miserable Penny had ever experienced. She wondered if it was too late to go to Omaha to see her Gammy.

Junior came over to pick her up for pizza on Thursday, it was the only thing she had to look forward to that came from the Cooper household. She crossed paths with Sheldon on the way to their driveway to get into Junior's truck and they held each other's gaze for a moment. An unreadable steel blue matched with a hard green, he dropped his head and quickly shuffled inside without saying a word.

"He's miserable you know," Junior said casually as he slid into the driver's side.

"No, I don't know, because he shut me out. Not like I would know anyway," she replied gruffly.

"Normally, darlin', I'd agree with ya' there, but you can read that boy like a book. I don't care what momma says, Shelly is chock-full of emotions, he just don't know it yet." He reached over and ruffled her hair. "Don't let him ruin a good thing, Penn," Junior's voice dropped to a lull and his lip curled into a half smile.

"Thanks Georgie," Penny whispered, she smiled at the fact that he didn't even flinch at the name anymore.

"For what?"

"Bein' you."

* * *

Half way through week three Penny was woken up by sirens screaming down their street. She pulled the covers over her head, as well as a pillow but the sound only got louder…too loud and the lights were bouncing off her bedroom walls. She kicked off the blankets and her hand flew to her mouth when she saw the trucks lined up at the Cooper house and a line of paramedics marching to the garden shed.

"Sheldon," she gasped," throwing on some clothes and running down the stairs.

"Hey now, hold on a second there Slugger!" Her father's arms snagged around her middle and caught her just as she was about to bolt out the door.

"Dad I gotta go over there, they're going to the shed, Sheldon was building something in that shed!" she cried, trying to kick out of his grip.

"You can't just barge on over there, Penny."

"You're father's right, sweetie," her mother emerged from the kitchen, no doubt she had been peering out the window only seconds before. "I know he's your friend and I'm sure in time-"

"I have to go now!"

"What's the matter, little freak finally blow himself up," Tommy smirked from the top of the stairs.

"That's enough, Thomas," Wyatt said firmly, narrowing his eyes at his son. He set Penny down and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sure you'll find out soon enough, sweetheart, but for now you need to stay put."

They all turned their heads up at the sound of an incoming helicopter and her mother went back to look out the window.

"Oh dear, looks like he's being flown to Lawrence Memorial, must be quite nasty if he's being flown," she muttered quietly.

"You're not helping, _dear_" Wyatt ground out.

Penny's eyes widened at the mention of her mother's words. What if he was hurt real bad? What if he burnt his brain up or something? Penny's eyes began to prick with tears and she sunk to the floor.

"Oh now, Slugger, I'm sure he'll be all right. He's young and they're being cautious is all." Wyatt shot a glare to his wife and wrapped Penny in his arms, picking her up and carrying her up back to bed.

* * *

Penny was eating lunch the next day when Junior knocked on their door, rubbing his hands together and bouncing on his heels as he waited for the door to open. Penny almost pushed her plate to the floor trying to get to him before her parents did, shoving herself off her stool and yanking the door open with brute force.

"What happened? Is he okay?" Penny demanded at the older Cooper brother on her stoop.

Junior slowly nodded, "He's better now," he said with a sigh. "Radiation burns from that damned contraption he was foolin' with in the shed. Doc says it'll take a few weeks to heal but he should be right as rain."

Penny let out a held breath and gave no thought as she stepped forward and latched on to his midsection. "I saw the helicopter, George, I was so scared," she whispered into him.

He firmly held her to his body, breathing in the top of her apple scented curls. "I know, Penn, I know." He rubbed circles into her back and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "So you wanna' see him?"

Penny turned away and slumped down onto the porch swing. "He doesn't want to see me, Junior, he sent me away, remember?"

Junior shook his head and laughed, "You two drive me crazy. You were the first thing he asked about when he woke up, you know that? Was worried 'cause he was mean to you an' all."

Penny's eyes snapped up.

"So you go get ready, and I'll drive you over there."

"I-Let me go tell my parents," she said quickly, jumping off the swing and rushing inside.

Junior was waiting for her by the truck in his drive way, she continued walking and went to the backyard.

"Where ya' goin'?" he called to her.

Penny waved a hand over her head and kept moving until she reached the tree in the corner of the yard, propping the ladder that was placed against the fence on its trunk and climbing until she could reach the white blossoms that it never seemed to run out of.

She got into the passenger's side with a smile, white bloom grasped in her hand. "Can we stop and get some pudding? Hospital pudding is just plain awful."

Junior rolled his eyes, but she could see that they had a twinkle in them as he did so.

* * *

They could hear Sheldon arguing with his mother as they approached his room, and above the arguing the voice of MeeMaw telling Mary to let him be, that he was capable of feeding himself he just didn't like the excuse for food he was being forced to eat.

Junior shook his head and bent down to whisper in Penny's ear. "It's been like this since we got here, MeeMaw's been sneakin' him cookies and momma's been givin' her hell for it."

Penny chuckled, "So what's going to happen when I give him a four pack of pudding?"

Junior smirked, "You're Penny, you can get away with just about anything." He gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Hold on, I'll get them out so y'all can make nice.

Penny waited a few moments while Junior ushered Mary and MeeMaw out of the room, but the lack of his twin was a little disconcerting.

"Where's Missy?" she asked.

The Cooper family glanced around at one another before MeeMaw spoke up.

"Missy is a little perturbed at Shelly at the moment, darlin'. Nothin' to be worried about though, I'm sure my MoonPie will fill you in all the details."

"O-kay," Penny drew out, stepping around them and slowly opening the door to his room.

* * *

His scrawny body sat tucked into the hospital bed with bandages draped over his arms and his cheeks were red. His eyes widened at the sight of her and his mouth opened but made no sound.

"Hey, MoonPie," Penny said softly, approaching his bedside and taking a seat in the nearby chair.

"Penny," he breathed, his eyes slipping closed momentarily. "Hello, Penny."

"What happened, Sheldon? Please tell me you didn't fry that big brain of yours."

"Heavens no, Penny, I wouldn't be so foolish to try it on myself first, I told you as such, right before-" he stopped and twisted his hands together in the sheets, staring down at them. "I have come to realize that my actions might have upset you." He took his lower lip into his mouth.

"Shut up, Sheldon! I wasn't so nice either, okay? I'm just glad you're going to be all right." Penny smirked, "But let's face it, MoonPie, if you would have come and seen me first this whole thing could have been avoided."

"But, Penny, for a brief moment it worked! I got to see the inside of Missy's guinea pig, Snowball." Sheldon's lips turned down, "then it burst into flames…poor creature, that really wasn't my intention."

Penny's eyes drifted to the bandages that enveloped his arms and she frowned, "Do they hurt?"

"They provided me with pain medication and an ointment that soothes and should prevent from any scaring. There is also a burn along my middle. My cheeks were singed but nothing serious."

Penny bent down and picked up the brown paper bag at her feet and pulled out the flower, twirling it between her fingers. Sheldon's lips flipped up into a smile when she placed it in the center of his chest.

"I believe that is what they would call 'my thing' Penelope," he said quietly, running his fingers along the soft petals.

"Yeah, well, today it's mine. Oh and I brought you pudding!"

"Chocolate?"

"As if there is any other flavor," Penny mocked.

"Of course there is, Penny. Vanilla, tapioca, banana-"

"Sheldon!" she interrupted, "I know what the other flavors are, and I also know that you like chocolate the best."

His mouth formed a small 'o'.

Penny placed a pudding pack and a plastic wrapped spoon on the table and wheeled it over him.

"Thank you, Penny," he smiled as his lips closed over the spoon.

"Your very welcome, Sheldon."

"Penny?" his tired voice creaked. She had been sitting there for quite some time, just sitting, the pudding long gone and his ramblings about what he saw inside poor Snowball were a thing of the past.

"Yeah?"

"Never mind," he sighed, turning his head and letting his eyes close. "I think I'll take a nap now."

"Don't be like that, Sheldon. What is it.?" She stood and let a hand rest on his shoulder immediately retracting it when he hissed in pain.

His head turned back to her, his eyes that were normally so bright and clear were dull and almost gray. He squeezed his eyes shut once more before they popped open again. "I find myself in some discomfort. Will…will you sing me Soft Kitty?"

Penny tilted her head and smiled down at him, "Soft Kitty is for when you're sick, Sheldon," she teased, you're not sick."

"Burned and lying in the hospital is most definitely a type of sick," he retorted with a pout.

Penny grinned. "Well, I can't argue with that, now can I?"

"No, you can't."

"Sheldon?" Penny pressed with a smile in her voice.

"What?" he sighed.

"I would have sung it anyway."

.

* * *

**A/N: Some fluff, some angst, and some more fluff and a hug from Junior! can we all say "Awwwww!" Now how pissed are we all that Jim and Kaley got robbed by those Glee bastards? Now I love Glee, but I wasn't aware that all that crying Kurt and Rachel do is supposed to be funny. But I was super happy that the show won in its self. As usual, big love to my guest and anons! Let me know how you felt about their first summer and go watch tonight's new episode. See ya' around!**

**Shelly**


	12. Chapter 12

**The Nuclear Reactor Instance**

"So you'll be home in a few weeks right? And are you going to come say hello to me or am I going to have to drag you out of that house?"

Sheldon gave a breathy laugh on the other end of the line, "Yes, Penny I will be there. I came home for Christmas, did I not? While now I almost regret my decision, my mother and her church group fawned over me the entire two weeks I was there."

Penny giggled and laid on a thick Texan accent, "Now, Shelly, she was just watchin' out for her baby, that's all," she mocked with a snicker.

"Mommy? Is that you?" Sheldon's voice pitched but she could hear the smile behind it, "You didn't inform me that my mother would be joining in on this phone call, Penelope, that's a strike."

"Oh please, Sheldon, try as you might you can't hold a strike against me to save your life. You always end up lifting it eventually," Penny sighed, rolling her eyes as if he could see her.

"You're the only one I can thoroughly rely on, Penny; it's imperative that your record remains clean…and for the record I found your mimicry of my mother amusing and my strike was never intentional."

Penny smiled, twirling a blonde curl around her finger as she gazed at the framed moody gardens photo on her dresser.

"I know, MoonPie, I know."

* * *

.

As much as she hated her time apart from Sheldon, it became a little easier each time he left. Yes there were still tears, there would always be tears, but it got better with each departure. Perhaps it was because she knew he always kept his promises and would be back at least over the summer, or because after this year he would be graduating and be home for good. Only one more year, she could deal with one more year.

She was twelve now, growing (or blossoming, as MeeMaw would say) more and more each day. The shy looks from the boys at school didn't go unnoticed either; she just opted to ignore them. She had her small drama group, that was all she needed, and Junior to fill the void while Sheldon was away. This wasn't to say she didn't notice boys though, she did, and boy did she appreciate them. Of course they were usually the older high school boys; tall, thick, a little scruffy, she had a particular soft spot for the ones with dazzling blue eyes…Like George Cooper Jr.

Holy crap on a cracker!

When did that happen? When she thought about it, she honestly didn't know why she was surprised. He was there to pick up the pieces when Sheldon left the first time, he was a lending ear every time they had a problem, he made an effort to make sure she was doing okay; most of all he was a puffed up version of Sheldon who wasn't afraid of germs. She suddenly looked very forward to their Thursday's after school, even more so than before; but then Junior went and got himself a girlfriend, and they only went for pizza once a month. She knew it was a harmless schoolgirl crush and nothing would have ever come of it, but she still missed her their time together. Now she was fond of two Cooper boys…and neither of them was ever around anymore. At least she would have her MoonPie back after this next school year; and by the talk of the town that girl Christy wouldn't be around for long either.

* * *

Sheldon arrived home hours ago and she was eagerly awaiting his presence on her porch. Penny did her best to smooth down her hair and pinned an orange Penny blossom in her curls, smiling at herself in the mirror as she pulled at the hem of her shirt. There were three knocks at the door and Penny began to bound down the stairs, shouting an "I'll get it!" as she went and nearly knocking down her brother in the process. She swung open the heavy oak to reveal not her MoonPie but the scrumptious form of his elder brother, smirking at her eagerness.

"Not who you were expectin' darlin'?"

"Hey, Junior," she said with a heavy sigh, "What's up? No Christy today?"

Junior huffed a laugh and let his head bob, "Later, went with momma to go get Shelly this mornin'. Thought you'd like ta' know," he winked and tilted his head towards the house.

"That scrawny bean pole said he'd come over here!" Penny hissed, shooting a menacing stare across the yard. "Let me guess, is he holed up in the garden shed?"

Junior shook his head with a large grin, "Nope," he popped, "in his room, something about messin' with the stairs, daddy had himself a tumble and well…it wasn't too pretty."

Penny snorted a laugh, having to hold her belly to keep from falling over, "I'm sorry, Georgie, that's not funny," she squeaked.

"The hell it ain't!" he joined in, "After everything he put us through, a few days sober in the hospital will do him good."

Penny's look softened and the corner of her lip turned up in an awkward smile. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Anyway," he waved her comment off, "Shelly was in a fuss he couldn't say hello properly, so I thought maybe you could drop on by. Momma is at the hospital, will be for a while, and I'm sure MeeMaw will let you up."

Penny's face lit up and she wasted no time in slipping on her shoes that rested by the front door, hardly doing up the laces as she skipped across the lawn, slowing just before she reached the Coopers front door. She braced her hands on her knees and took a few calming breaths before she rang the bell and waited for MeeMaw to answer.

* * *

Sheldon's grandmother propped her hand up on her hip and peered down slightly at an eagerly bouncing Penny on the door step.

"Well lookie here, my prayers have been answered," she drawled. Looking up to the sky and lifting the other hand she let out an exaggerated "Thank you, Jesus!"

Penny scrunched her face and tilted her head, "Umm, hey, MeeMaw," she said carefully.

"Oh, hey, MeeMaw, nothin'! You best get your tail up them stairs before that boy starts in about somethin' else that isn't going his way. Pumpkin' I love my MoonPie dearly, but my word, he can be a handful from time to time."

Penny smiled and nodded feverishly; stepping around her and inside making her way towards the stairwell.

"Just a second, PennyBlossom," she called out, shuffling into the kitchen and returning with a fresh batch of oatmeal raisin cookies and a bottle of yoo-hoo. "Couldn't hurt," she smiled with a shrug as she passed the items into Penny's hands.

* * *

Penny knocked on his door several times before she cracked it open and took a step inside. Sheldon was on his bed, facing the wall with his knees tucked into his chest.

"I appreciate the effort, MeeMaw, but I don't feel like oatmeal raisin right now." His voice was solemn, almost pouty.

"Not even with yoo-hoo?" Penny chirped, coming up behind him and setting the plate and bottle down on the night stand.

Sheldon sat up with a bolt, his hair unkempt from being matted to his pillow and his blue eyes wide.

"Penny! You're in my room, people can't be in my room, Penny," he said glumly with a shake of his head.

Penny scoffed and shook her head, "_Since when am_ _I people, Sheldon?_ Besides, I've been in here plenty of times."

Sheldon began to twist his hands around each other, his eyes focused on the carpet. "Not since I left for Austin, I…people can't be in my room," he whispered.

Penny furrowed her eyebrows; it was true, they had avoided his room each time with the exception of that first Thanksgiving. He grew more and more distant each time he came back from college. The short time they had together before then had been spent coaxing him out of his shell, and he was slowly crawling right back in. Sure he still put up with her touchy-ness, but he always looked like he wanted to say more than what he was letting on.

Nope. She wasn't having any of that. And if people couldn't be in his room she didn't dare think what he was going to say when she sat down next him on his bed, nor did she care.

"Penelope!" he cried out with a shriek, his eyes snapping to meet hers.

"Shut your hole, Sheldon Lee Cooper!"

"All right." His head dropped and his hands went back to turning around each other in his lap.

Penny leaned into his side and let her head rest against his shoulder, her arm slinking around his back. Sheldon sighed, untangling one of his hands and patting her knee, letting it rest there after the third pat.

"You're taller," he said softly after a few moments of silence.

"Think I'll ever catch up to you, MoonPie?"

"It is highly unlikely. The genes in my family suggest that I will continue to gain height until I am at least six foot, while the women in yours tend to stay in the mid five foot range."

"Let's just hope you stop there, don't want you growing until you can fit inside, arms and legs through the windows and doors…" Penny laughed, "Just like Alice."

"Penny, Alice in Wonderland is a children's film, or if you prefer the novel, but never the less it is physically impossible. Besides she ate some sort of enchanted cake that—"

"Sheldon?" Penny nudged him with her shoulder, getting him to stop talking. "I was joking."

"Oh," he replied quietly, followed by a short breathy laugh.

Penny giggled and squeezed her arm around him, shaking her head that was still pressed into his shoulder. "Boy, have I missed you."

Penny had moved from the bed to his desk chair; he was in better spirits now after eating his cookies and yoo-hoo. He even went as far as to offer her one, so long as she was careful not to let her fingers touch any others of course.

"So what's the deal with the stairs, MoonPie, what'd you do?" Penny rested her elbows on her knees and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Were you aware, Penny, that if one step is off by as little as two millimeters most people will trip."

Penny arched an eyebrow.

"Well, _what I wasn't aware of _was that my father had started his inebriation ritual rather early this morning and the result was far worse than a trip and it ended with a broken clavicle."

Penny's face scrunched and she opened her mouth slightly, a face which Sheldon took as confusion.

"I'm sorry, I've confused you. By inebriated I mean-"

"I know what inebriated means, Sheldon!" she scolded, but her scowl quickly turned into a huffed laugh. "Oh, Shelly," she sighed, "Is your mom okay?"

"Why wouldn't she be, she didn't have an ill-fated fall down the stairs," he deadpanned and Penny shot him a glare.

"Oh." His mouth dropped open. "She was upset with me, as I suspected she would be once I saw him 'go down'." His blue eyes dimmed and he looked at her timidly. "I didn't mean any harm to come to him, Penelope, honestly. I simply wanted to perform a simple experiment."

"I know, Sheldon. But maybe you should just stick to your garden shed from now on…okay?"

He nodded, "Yes, I think that would be best."

* * *

She should have known what was coming, heck, she was the one to suggest it after all, but she didn't expect him to march out there the next day and spend sunrise til' sundown out there. Shoot, she'd hardly seen him in two weeks! She managed to wrestle him out of there long enough to get Junior to take them for pizza, but he was dazed the whole time; scribbling down notes on his napkins and paying them no never mind. To make matters worse it had been the middle of the day and he cursed his brother for interrupting his work (not Penny, because if he did have to eat it might as well be in her company), so once they pulled back into the Cooper's driveway it was a polite goodbye and the right back to business.

"What ya' recon he's doin' in there, anyway?" Junior asked, leaning against the truck and running a hand along the light scruff on his chin.

Penny pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in the direction of the small building. "No clue…but I'm about to find out." She began to march off into the back yard when Juniors hand on her elbow stopped her.

"Now wait a minute, darlin', you think that's such a good idea? You know how he gets when people fuss around him. Lord, he hollered at me for makin' him eat lunch."

"I know," she nodded. "But I'm not people, Georgie, I'm Penny."

* * *

Penny pounded on the door with the heel of her hand.

_Bang, bang, bang, _"Sheldon!"

_Bang, bang, bang, _"Sheldon!"

_Bang, bang, bang, _"Sheldon!"

It creaked open and a pair of steel eyes glared down at her, blinking slowly. "Yes?" he said flatly.

"Can I come in?" Penny smiled sweetly, joining her hands behind her back and rocking on her heels.

"Of course it is physically possible for you to enter, Penelope; but if you in fact meant to say _'May I'_ then the answer is no, you _may _not." He moved to shut the door but she blocked it quickly with her shoe.

"C'mon MoonPie, pleeeeease?" She stuck out her bottom lip and blinked her lashes at him a few times. "You didn't even talk to me at lunch; I've barely seen you at all since you've been home!"

Sheldon rolled his eyes, "You know how I detest banal chit chat, Penny," he said flatly.

"Then why bother talk to me, let alone write me at all? If you hate it so much!" she lashed out, refusing to let the tears fall although she was sure her eyes were glistening.

Sheldon's frame stiffened, his eyes going wide and his eyebrows moving into his hairline.

"Whatever," Penny huffed with a shake of her head. "Sometimes I don't know why I bother." She removed her shoe and turned to leave when the second Cooper of the day stopped her by a grasp on her arm.

When she turned back he had moved out a step into the yard, head low and his other arm hanging limply by his side. "I apologize," he swallowed, his voice hardly breaking a whisper.

Penny simply glared back at him through hard green orbs.

"I never said that I didn't enjoy our conversations, Penelope," he shook his head, "I would never say that. I enjoy your company very much. However, my brother was there and his conversational topics are slim to none."

Penny sighed and shook her head, "Why do we always end up fighting, MoonPie?"

He smiled at the use of the name, "Push and pull, Penny," he smirked, "The more I think about it, the more I realize that you are the sweet to my sour, the yin to my yang if you wish. We fit, but not without consequence." He stepped back inside the shed, leaving the door along with Penny's mouth hanging open. "You coming?" he called back to her.

"I-I-uh-yeah," she stammered out, quickly following behind him before he could change his mind.

Penny shut the door behind her, taking a seat on the chair that was pushed up against the wall, folding her hands in her lap, sitting and watching him putter around while she kept quiet.

"No, no, no," he would mutter occasionally, circling his device and running a hand through his dark cropped hair, causing it to stick up on end.

She sat there for what seemed like hours, watching him write out equations on white boards before going back to tinker and frown some more. She wanted to ask him what it was, what he was working on and what had him so frustrated, but she didn't want to agitate him any further and she didn't mind just being there.

He let out a groan and pulled at his hair some more, staring at the machine as if it were his mortal enemy. Sheldon looked over to Penny, the first time he had acknowledged her being there since he let her in.

"This isn't going to work; I simply do not have the feasible materials to make it so." He shrugged. "I suppose I will have to find them via the internet tomorrow."

"What is it?" Penny asked timidly.

"Oh!" Sheldon smiled, "It's a nuclear reactor."

Penny almost fell out of her chair. "Sheldon! Do you not remember what happened with the CAT scanner? This is…this is…"

Sheldon walked over to her and squatted down to her level, shaking his head and placing a hand on her shaking knee. "Penny, Penny, Penny, I am trying to provide a form of free electricity for Galveston, I've taken all the precautionary measures, I assure you."

"Just don't get hurt, Shelly," she pleaded with soft green eyes.

"I don't plan to," he stated with a single shake of the head. He stood, dusting his hands off and taking a fleeting look at the contraption in the center of the shed. "Well, it appears my work for the day is done, and once I find the right materials it will take several days for them to arrive," he turned back to Penny with a smile, "Would you like to spend tomorrow by the creek, 'for old time's sake', as they would say?"

"I'd love to," Penny beamed, resisting the urge to rush over to him and press a kiss to his freckled cheek. But she didn't want to push him more than she already had today.

* * *

.

The week they spent waiting for Sheldon's 'supplies' to come, were absolute bliss for Penny. What time they didn't spend down at the creek they spent getting Junior to take them to the comic store (well he took Sheldon, but Penny more than happily tagged along), sometimes they'd go to the arcade and every now and then he would tell her about his schooling at UT. Not that she understood any of his ramblings, but she still listened.

He still never told her about the bullies that were within the schools walls, she just didn't need to know that. It had gotten better over time anyhow.

Penny liked it when Sheldon came to visit during the school year, as seldom as he did, but she liked summer the best. For twelve whole weeks (give or take the ones he used up doing science-y things) it was almost like it used to be.

It had been a few days since he went back to work on his free power thingy; she'd figure she'd give him a few days to himself, even she knew how much she could wear him out. She skipped into the back yard and knocked on the shed door with a grin on her face and an uncontrollable bounce in her stance.

He didn't answer.

Penny knocked again, pressing her ear to the door so she could listen for him moving around in there.

Silence, she couldn't hear a dang thing.

She shrugged and took a chance in opening the door, stepping right back out when she realized it was god awful hot in there. There was no way he was in that shed with no air conditioning running.

"Sheldon-"she called out anyway on instinct. When she got no reply she closed the door and made her way to the house.

Penny was greeted with the brooding figure of George Cooper Sr., his eyes burning down on her and a bottle in one hand and a sling around his other arm. It had been the first time she'd been confronted with Sheldon's father on her own and she actually took a step back.

"H-hello, Mr. Cooper, sir…is...uh…is Sheldon home?" Penny took her bottom lip between her teeth and swallowed.

"Mary! It's that girl from next door!" he bellowed, turning his head slightly but not removing his eyes from her.

Mary Cooper appeared in the doorway, her ever kind face brightening when she saw a timid Penny looming on the stoop.

"Well heavens, George, let the poor thing in! It's hot as hades out there." Mary gently shooed her husband away, who left with a grunt. She turned back to Penny who was now standing in the entryway with an awkward smile on her face. "I suppose you're here to see Shelly?"

Penny nodded.

"He's been locked up in his room ever since them men came around, good luck getting' in there, hardly lets me in half the time, mutterin' somethin' about people not bein' able to be in his room." Mary shook her head, "Sometimes I regret not following up with that specialist in Huston," she muttered, moving past Penny and into the living room.

* * *

Penny rapped on his door only to get a, "Go away!" in response. She rolled her eyes and knocked again, this time she was greeted with a, "Nobody's in here!"

"Sheldon, it's me." Penny called through the door.

"Me who?" his voice was louder, she could tell he was just on the other side now.

_Me who? _she thought, _who else would it be?_ "Penny."

The door cracked open and a bleary eyed Sheldon Cooper was staring down at her. "What do you want?"

Her heart sank at the sight of him. "Oh, MoonPie, what happened?"

Sheldon sighed and let the door open wider and stepped aside so she could enter but closed it as soon as she was inside. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay-" she drew out, perching herself on the edge of his bed. She noticed he had already had some sort of new device sitting on his desk; she eyed it warily.

"It was a sonic death ray; I had planned on using it on the neighborhood bullies."

Penny groaned, "Sheldon, look-"

"Relax, Penelope, stupid thing doesn't work. Doesn't do anything but annoy Mrs. Jursten's dog."

Sheldon remained by the door, pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair and giving her a questionable look every so often. Clearly he was upset, clearly he wanted to tell her, he just had problems getting to that point.

"Sheldon?" Penny urged softly, nodding to the space beside her. "Sit."

He strode over the bed, chewing his bottom lip turned a few times before he actually took a seat.

"What's wrong, Sheldon?"

Frantic blue met green for a brief moment before he turned away. "Nothing."

"Sheldon, please-"she placed her hand over his and squeezed gently, "You're momma said you've locked yourself in here since some men came."

He looked over at her again and the twitch in his brow didn't go unnoticed.

"Please, Shelly, just tell me what happened, you might feel better."

He took a breath, shuddering lightly on the exhale. "They were from the government; apparently it is illegal to keep yellow cake uranium in a garden shed." Sheldon turned away and fixated his gaze on his pillows. "I was shut down, Penny. My reactor was a failure, and in turn I am as well."

"What is yell- never mind." Penny squeezed his hand again. "Why are you a failure, Sheldon? Because you couldn't give this town some free electric. Most of them don't deserve it anyhow."

Sheldon turned his head to look at her, his eyes rimmed red. "How do you mean?"

"Parents of those kids that do nothing but pick on you, all those crazy ladies in your mothers church group who keep 'prayin' for the lord to fix you'?"

Penny shook her head, "You're not a failure. You're Sheldon Lee Cooper, thirteen and almost graduated from UT. I bet half this town didn't even graduate from community college! You are anything but a failure, MoonPie."

"And I wouldn't change you for the world." Penny adjusted herself so she was sitting on her knees, his bright eyes were still fixated on hers and his head tilted in a state of wonderment. Penny shook her head and consequences be damned she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his quickly. He stiffened underneath her, his eyes growing impossibly wide and they remained that way when she pulled away.

"Y-you, you, Penny, you…"

"Yes I did," she nodded defiantly. "And hate me if you want, Sheldon but It can't be undone and I'm not apologizing."

Sheldon blinked, "Hate you? Penny! I could never hate you! It was just…" He looked down and intertwined his hands, "unexpected."

"Sometimes, the best things in life are unexpected," Penny said softly.

Sheldon smiled, bringing a hand up and pausing with uncertainty before he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you, Penelope." He allowed his hand to trail down her arm and gave her hand a squeeze before he leaned away from her. "I haven't slept well in a few days; I think I'd like to nap now."

Penny nodded, getting up from the bed and heading towards his door.

"Penny?"

She turned back with a hummed "Mmm?"

"Would you perhaps like to accompany me to the movies tomorrow?"

Her lips spread into a grin, "Of course, Sheldon."

"Penny?"

"Yes, Sheldon?"

"Y-You really wouldn't change anything about me? Not at all?" His face was soft and his eyes clear as crystal.

"No, MoonPie," she shook her head with a lighthearted smile, "not a dang thing."

* * *

.

**A/N: I would like to apologize to Galveston, TX. I'm sure you guys are a lovely bunch who have plenty of folks that go off to college. Sheldon needed a pick me up, that's all. That being said...how the heck are we all? Good? good? crying over taping reports...just no...really...no. I don't want to spoil my Shenny fluff that just happened up there with that so lets continue, yes? D'awwww my babies are growing up! And Shelly is graduating soon...trip to Austin perhaps? And yes, The Whore of Omaha is now the Whore of Galveston :D In name anyway. You guys continue to be awesome, and I love you all. Now tell me how you feel...hmmm? **

**p.s. It's 5am...anything bad sticks out PM me I'll fix it...thanks :D**

**Shelly**


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